Amethyst Woodstar

The amethyst woodstar is 6 to 8.4 cm (2.4 to 3.3 in) long and weighs 3.2 to 2.5 g (0.11 to 0.088 oz). Both sexes have a medium length, straight, black bill. They have dark bronzy green upperparts with a large white spot on either side of the rump. Males have a small white spot behind the eye while females have a thin white stripe. Males in breeding plumage have an iridescent amethyst gorget with a whitish band below it. The rest of the underparts are greenish with brownish lower flanks. Its deeply forked tail is purplish black with green tips to the feathers. Males in non-breeding (eclipse) plumage have a pale throat with some iridescent disks. Females have whitish underparts with a few green spangles on the throat and rufous flanks and undertail coverts. The tail is short and dull green with a black band near the end and pale tips to the feathers.

The amethyst woodstar is found from eastern Colombia through Venezuela and the Guianas into most of Brazil except the main Amazon basin as far south as extreme northeastern Argentina, and from there west and north into Paraguay and through Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador slightly into southern Colombia. It inhabits a wide variety of semi-open to open landscapes including the borders of humid forest, clearings within forest, savanna, and scrubby woodland. It shuns the interior of closed forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

The amethyst woodstar forages in low bushes and small trees, collecting nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants. It is known to feed at plants of more than 30 genera. In addition to nectar, it also feeds on insects captured by hawking from a perch. It is dominated by most other hummingbirds.