White-tailed starfrontlet

The white-tailed starfrontlet and most other members of genus Coeligena were at one time placed in genus Helianthea but have been in their current placement since the mid-1900s.[5] The species is monotypic.[3]

The white-tailed starfrontlet is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long. Both sexes have a long, straight, black bill, with the female's being somewhat longer than the male's. Both sexes have a white spot behind the eye. Both sexes also have a forked tail, but the male's is more deeply indented than the female's. Adult males have metallic dark green upperparts with a glittering turquoise crown. The entire tail is white, though the feathers when fresh have bronze tips. They have a blue gorget, mostly emerald green underparts, white leg puffs, and white undertail coverts. Adult females have a dusky blue-green crown and shining green upperparts. The tail is bronzy with pale buff tips to the feathers. Its underparts are rufous cinnamon. Immatures are similar to the adult female.[6]

The white-tailed starfrontlet is found only in northeast Colombia's isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It inhabits humid to wet montane forest; males prefer openings within the forest while females are more often seen at the forest edge. In elevation it ranges between 1,400 and 3,700 m (4,600 and 12,100 ft).[6]

The IUCN originally assessed the white-tailed starfrontlet as being of Least Concern but since 2018 has rated it as Near Threatened. It has a very small range "where it is under threat of habitat loss and fragmentation". Its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing.[1]