Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat and is reportedly declining within its range. The population is suspected to be small and occurring in localised in small subpopulations. The species is therefore evaluated as Near Threatened.
Population justification
The total population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as uncommon (Züchner et al. 2020). In Ecuador, it is no longer known to be present in large numbers anywhere in the country (Gurney 2006; Athanas and Greenfield 2016). The population in Ecuador is suspected to number 2,500-9,999 mature individuals (Freile et al. 2019). There are an increasing number of recent reports from northern Peru, but it is rare in the centre of the country (T. Marks in litt. 2003; Angulo et al. 2012; F. Angulo in litt. 2020). The size of the population in Peru is unknown (see SERFOR 2018); based on observational records (eBird 2021) it may be of a similar size as the population in Ecuador. The population in Colombia is likely extremely small (see eBird 2021). Consequently, the global population is suspected to number 5,000-19,999 mature individuals.
The population structure has not been investigated, but the species may form several small subpopulations, at least in parts of its range in Ecuador (see Freile et al. 2019).
Trend justification
The species was once considered common, but has reportedly declined in line with the destruction and fragmentation of forested habitat within its range, so that it is now considered uncommon in parts of its range (Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990; Züchner et al. 2020). Within the range, 3% of tree cover has been lost over the past ten years (Global Forest Watch 2021). The species is strictly dependent on forests (Züchner et al. 2020), and thus the population decline may be exacerbated by additional habitat degradation. It is however unlikely that population declines exceed 20% over ten years.
This species occurs on both slopes of the Andes in northern Peru (from La Libertad and Huánuco in the south) north through Andean and west-central lowland Ecuador (14 provinces) to south-west Colombia (Nariño), where it was recently discovered and is thought to be seasonal (Salaman and Mazariegos 1998).
It is found between sea-level and 3,050 m, in humid evergreen forest and, more commonly, in the transitional zone between dry and wet forests. It appears to make seasonal or occasional movements, perhaps in response to continental rainfall patterns or El Niño Southern Oscillation events (Salaman and Mazariegos 1998).
Below 900 m, the rate of deforestation in western Ecuador over the period 1958-1988 was 57% per decade (Dodson and Gentry 1991). Habitat loss is ongoing at lower rates by now; over the past ten years 3% of tree cover have been lost within the range (Global Forest Watch 2021). Nevertheless, parts of the species's range in the dry forests of southwestern Ecuador are threatened by future habitat loss (Ferrer-Paris et al. 2019). The main drivers of habitat conversion are clearance for agriculture, plantations, settlements and mining, leading to a degradation and fragmentation of forest patches (Dodson and Gentry 1991; Dinerstein et al. 1995; Züchner et al. 2020; M. Sánchez-Nivicela in litt. 2021).
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. It occurs in Río Ñambí Community Nature Reserve (Nariño) in Colombia, Río Palenque Reserve (Pichincha), Loma Alta Ecological Reserve, Podocarpus National Park (J. F. Freile in litt. 2000) and Machalilla National Park in Ecuador, and Laquipampa Wildlife Refuge (Lambayeque; Angulo et al. 2012) and Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo (San Martín) in Peru. It is considered Vulnerable at the national level in Ecuador (Freile et al. 2019) and as Near Threatened in Peru (SERFOR 2018).
6-7 cm. Tiny hummingbird with typical woodstar plumage pattern. Male has dark bronzy blue-green upperparts and belly. Buffy pectoral-band and postocular line meet. Rosy gorget. Forked tail. Female has similarly coloured upperparts, but underparts are cinnamon, with tawny sides and vent, and rounded tail has black subterminal bar. Immature like female. Both sexes have a straight black bill. Similar spp. Most other male woodstars have white pectoral-band and postocular line. Voice a series of rapid chit-cheet and chit-chit-cheet calls.
Text account compilers
Hermes, C.
Contributors
Angulo Pratolongo, F., Benstead, P., Freile, J., Harding, M., Isherwood, I., Marks, T., Pilgrim, J., Sharpe, C.J., Stuart, T., Symes, A. & Sánchez-Nivicela, M.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Little Woodstar Chaetocercus bombus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/little-woodstar-chaetocercus-bombus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.