The magenta-throated woodstar (''Philodice bryantae'') is a species of

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and Panama.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip xls zipped 1 MBretrieved 27 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The magenta-throated woodstar has in the past been included in genera ''Nesophlox'' and ''Calliphlox''.Stiles, F.G. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Magenta-throated Woodstar (''Philodice bryantae''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.matwoo1.01 retrieved July 24, 2022 The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

have moved it to genus ''Philodice'' which it shares with the

purple-throated woodstar The purple-throated woodstar (''Philodice mitchellii'') is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Hand ...

(''P. mitchellii'').Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021 However, the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

retain both of them in ''Calliphlox''. The magenta-throated woodstar is monotypic. Magenta-Throated Hummingbird 002

Description

The male magenta-throated woodstar is about long and weighs about . Females are about and weigh about . Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill and a small white spot behind the eye. Both have bronzy green upperparts with some rufous spangles and a white band across the upper chest, though the male's is broader and brighter. Adult males have a metallic purple

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...

, a green breast and flanks, and a rufous belly with a white or buffy patch on either side of the rump. Females have a buffy throat and a green breast and flanks with some rufous mixed in. The male's central tail feathers are short with black tips. Each pair outward from them are progressively longer; they are black with cinnamon-rufous inner webs. The adult female's central and outermost pairs of tail feathers are shorter than the intermediate ones, giving a "double rounded" look. The feathers are rufous with a black band near the end and buffy cinnamon tips. Immature birds are like the adult female, but paler below and with buff fringes on the upperparts plumage.

Distribution and habitat

The magenta-throated woodstar is found from northern Coast Rica into western Panama as far as Veraguas Province. It mostly occurs on the Pacific slope. It inhabits semi-open to open landscapes in the Talamancan montane ecoregion; examples include forest edges and clearings, thinned woodland,

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, and shrubby pastures. In elevation it ranges between in

and in Panama occurs between .

Behavior

Movement

The magenta-throated woodstar apparently makes local movements because at some sites it is present only part of the year. The details, however, are lacking.

Feeding

The magenta-throated woodstar feeds on nectar from a variety of flowering plants, shrubs, and trees. Both sexes may attempt to defend feeding territories, leading to chasing and other

agonistic An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agoni ...

behavior. The male usually holds his long tail cocked and closed while feeding but opens it wide when displaying aggressively. In addition to feeding on nectar the species captures small arthropods by

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

from a perch or gleaning from foliage.

Breeding

The magenta-throated woodstar's breeding season in Costa Rica spans from November to March or April but has not been defined in Panama. Males give a diving display flight alone or in loose groups (possibly at leks). The species' nest has not been described and the incubation period and time to fledging are unknown.

Vocalization

The magenta-throated woodstar's song is "a low-pitched, rapid medley of sputtering and gurgling notes." Their calls include "a low-pitched dry rolling 'drr'", "a dry 'cht'", and "a low-pitched, whistled 'tew'." The last is given during chases.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

originally assessed the magenta-throated woodstar as Near Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. It has a restricted range. Its population is estimated at between 20,000 and 50,000 mature individuals but is believed to be decreasing. It is considered locally common, at least seasonally, and appears able to tolerate some forest clearance.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q850394

Magenta-throated woodstar The magenta-throated woodstar (''Philodice bryantae'') is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of th ...

Birds of the Talamancan montane forests

Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN