Esmeraldas Woodstar vs Gorgeted Woodstar

Chaetocercus berlepschi compared with Chaetocercus heliodor

Key Differences

• Esmeraldas Woodstar is Vulnerable while Gorgeted Woodstar is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Esmeraldas Woodstar	Gorgeted Woodstar
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus same	Chaetocercus	Chaetocercus
Species	Chaetocercus berlepschi	Chaetocercus heliodor

Evolutionary Relationship

Esmeraldas Woodstar and Gorgeted Woodstar share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Chaetocercus.

Conservation Status

Esmeraldas Woodstar

VU — Vulnerable

Gorgeted Woodstar

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Esmeraldas Woodstar	Gorgeted Woodstar
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Esmeraldas Woodstar

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Ecuador and Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Gorgeted Woodstar

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Gorgeted Woodstar

A tiny, high-altitude Andean woodstar hummingbird, male gorgeted woodstars have a spectacular iridescent pink-purple gorget that is disproportionately large relative to their 2.5 g body. Found in montane forest edges and gardens from Colombia and Venezuela to northwestern Peru at elevations of 1,500–3,500 meters. Like all woodstars, they perform buzzy, insect-like hovering flight in open areas near flowers. They enter deep nocturnal torpor — a near-death metabolic state — to survive cold Andean nights.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway