Bahama hummingbird
The Bahama woodstar or Bahama hummingbird (Nesophlox evelynae ) is a species of hummingbird endemic to the Bahama archipelago, including the Bahama and Turks and Caicos islands. It is named the "Hummer" by locals due to a distinct humming sound it makes while feeding.
The Bahama woodstar is a small hummingbird, growing to be only about 8 to 9.5 cm (3.1 to 3.7 in) in length. These birds weigh around 2.4 to 3 g (0.085 to 0.106 oz). Their backs are green and gold, with olive-buff underparts, and flanks fading into white (males) or cinnamon (females). Wings are brown and their tails appear a blackish-purple. Males have a fork-shaped tail while females display a more rounded tail with wider feathers. Males have bright purple iridescent gorgets lined with a white stripe, which dull out as breeding season ends. Females do not have the purple throat or white stripe. Both males and females have black, slightly curved bills and black feet.
The Bahama woodstar is distributed around the Bahama Archipelago, including the Turks and Caicos Islands and with exception to the Inagua islands. It has also been recorded multiple times in Florida, United States. In April 2013 a bird was seen for three days at a feeder in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They are less plentiful on the Grand Bahama, Abaco and Andros Islands that house the Cuban Emerald, an introduced hummingbird which shows aggression towards the Bahama Woodstar.
Bahama Woodstars are found in many different habitats such as gardens, Scrubland, both secondary growth and dry lowland, the edges of Tropical Evergreen Forests and Pine Forests. They tend not to migrate very far from these habitats being a year-round species. Although they may inhabit the same area as other Woodstars, they are not very social and will often become aggressive towards other birds.
Bahama woodstars mainly suck up nectar from local plants. On the Abaco Islands, one of these plants include Ernodea serratifolia. They visit the flowers during the mornings and evenings. Lacerations can be seen in the tubular corollas of the flowers, where the beaks of these birds and other hummingbird species took the nectar. They may also feed on insects.
Breeding season is mainly in April, but Bahama woodstars may also breed year-round. During the breeding season, males court females using two courting displays: shuttle displays, broken into shuttle segments which are periods of side to side flight and aerial dives.
Shuttle displays include three forms: initial, typical and alternate.
Aerial dives have seldom been recorded, but are always demonstrated after shuttle displays. Males will zigzag up to heights of 20 m and then abruptly dive back down towards their perch, near the female.
The nest is a small cup made of soft materials such as cotton and down, woven together with lichen and various plant materials such as twigs and bark The height of these nests varies, some recorded as low as 2 feet and as high as 12 feet. Females lay 2 white oval shaped eggs which incubate for approximately two weeks.
