- Oreotrochilus estella
Identification
13–15 cm (5-6 in)
Male:
- Emerald green throat with a black border
- White breast
- Chestnut belly stripe
- Dull olive green upperside.
Female - brownish green above and pale grey below. Some greenish speckling on the throat.
Distribution
South America: found in south-west Peru, western Bolivia, northern Chile and north-western Argentina.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]
*O. e. estella:
- O. e. bolivianus:
- Andes of central Bolivia (Cochabamba)
Green-headed Hillstar was recently split from Andean Hillstar.
Habitat
High-altitude grassland, scrubs, and bushes.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists almost entirely of nectar taken from the orange flowers of Chuquiragua spinosa. They eat whilst perched.
Breeding
The females build nests attached to the rock surface of ravines. They form loose nesting colonies.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
- Arthur Grosset
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Andean Hillstar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Andean_Hillstar
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
