The Story
I photographed this Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii) at Finca La Conchita, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. In Colombia it breeds at higher elevations and moves lower outside the breeding season. It builds a tiny cup nest of fine fibers and spider silk on a thick branch of a tall tree, often 8 to 12 meters up. Both sexes show a white patch on each side of the rump. It lives in humid forest and cloud forest and is most numerous above 1,000 meters. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, −0.7 EV. It appears to depend on native trees for nectar, and it occurs in at least two protected areas in Colombia.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List