Bird Guide

Purple-backed Thornbill vs Purple-collared Woodstar

Purple-backed Thornbill (Ramphomicron microrhynchum)

Purple-backed Thornbill

Ramphomicron microrhynchum

Tiny4 gForest

The purple-backed thornbill is 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) long and weighs about 3.5 g (0.12 oz). Both sexes have a black bill, the shortest of any hummingbird. Males of the nominate subspecies have metallic violet-purple upperparts with a white spot behind the eye. Their gorget is iridescent golden green, the underparts bronzy green, and the undertail coverts coppery with tawny fringes. The tail is moderately long, forked, and dark purple. Nominate females have shining green upperparts, and like the male, a white spot behind the eye. Voice: The purple-backed thornbill's song is "a continuous series of quiet scratchy notes interspersed by short buzzes or dry trills." Its calls include "a short dry rattle 'trrr'..., a scratchy 'krr-kit', and a long twittering rattle."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Purple-collared Woodstar (Myrtis fanny)

Purple-collared Woodstar

Myrtis fanny

Tiny2 gShrubland

The purple-collared woodstar is 7.5 to 8 cm (3.0 to 3.1 in) long and weighs 2.3 to 2.5 g (0.081 to 0.088 oz). Both sexes have a short, decurved, black bill. Their upperparts are bronze-green. Males have an iridescent aquamarine gorget with a shiny violet band below it. The rest of the underparts are dirty white. The long forked tail is dusky brown glossed with light green. The female's underparts are buff, with a bit of white on the throat and belly. Voice: The male purple-collared woodstar makes "a series of twittering 'ti-ti-ti-trl' phrases" at the top of its courtship flight, and at the bottom (mechanically) makes "a remarkable, nasal-sounding 'anh-anh-anh-anh-anh'". In a chase it makes "a fast, high-pitched, descending twittering 'ti-ti-ti-ti'", and another call is "a fast dry 'chi-chi-chi'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Purple-collared Woodstar
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Azuay: upper Yunguilla Valley, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) David F. Belmonte, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by David F. Belmonte · cc-by

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Purple-backed Thornbill and Purple-collared Woodstar.