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Chaetocercus heliodor

Gorgeted Woodstar

  • Order: Apodiformes
  • Family: Trochilidae

Authors: Sedgwick, Carolyn W.

Gorgeted Woodstars are most often found in the highlands where they inhabit glades and borders of humid forests, shaded plantations, and disturbed areas with trees. The smallest of the woodstars, the Gorgeted Woodstar has a white patch on the flank which can be seen during flight. Males have spectacular magenta throat patches which extend down to the lower neck and side of the chest. These woodstars often hover like a bee and get chased by large hummingbirds since they attempt to steal nectar from their floral territories. When they’re not foraging, Gorgeted Woodstars frequently perch by themselves on exposed twigs.

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Recommended Citation

Sedgwick, Carolyn W.. 2011. Gorgeted Woodstar (Chaetocercus heliodor), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=280056

This map is based on the maps available from the NatureServe InfoNatura website. The data for these maps are provided by NatureServe in collaboration with Robert Ridgely, James Zook, The Nature Conservancy - Migratory Bird Program, Conservation International - CABS, World Wildlife Fund - US, and Environment Canada - WILDSPACE.

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