Andean Hillstar (Oreotrochilus estella)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in).  The male Andean Hillstar is grayish-green above and brownish-white below with black (stolzmani) or brown (estella) median stripe on the belly. The bill is black and slightly decurved. It has a broad iridescent green gorget. The tail feathers are white with dusky edging and a green central pair of feathers.  The female is grayish-green above and grayish below with dusky specks on the throat. The base and tip of tail feathers are white. The female is very similar to the female Black-breasted Hillstar, but is distinguished by having white on the base and tips on the tail feathers. The female Black-breasted Hillstar has white only on the tip of the tail feathers.

Status: The Andean Hillstar is fairly common in two disjunct populations in the northern and southern west slope of the Andes where it ranges at elevations of 3400-4600 m. It also occurs in Ec, Bo, and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Estrella Andina.

Sub-species: Andean Hillstar (Oreotrochilus estella stolzmanni), Salvin, 1895. Central and northern Peru.
(Oreotrochilus estella estella), d’Orbigny and Lafresnaye, 1838. Southern Peru, Chile, and Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Oreotrochilus: Gr.oros, oreos=  mountain and  Trochilus= genus Trochilus. estella: In honor of Estelle-Marie Dessalines d’Orbigny (1801-1893) elder sister of French zoologist Alcide Dessalines d’Orbigny.

See more of the Family Trochilidae