Long-billed Starthroat (Heliomaster longirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~11 cm (4.3 in). The Long-billed Starthroat is green above with a blue iridescent cap. Both sexes have a purple iridescent gorget and a prominent pale stripe between the gorget and the eye. The rest of the underparts are grayish-green with whitish in the middle. The bill is long, black, and nearly straight. The tail is dusky-green with white tips. It has concealed white stripes on the sides of the rump, but are often difficult to see. It often perches on twiggy branches high in the canopy. The head pattern may recall a White-bellied Woodstar, which ranges at higher elevations on the east slope of the Andes.

Status: The Long-billed Starthroat is uncommon in Amazonia where it is known to range to elevations of up to 1000 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in the humid and semi-deciduous forest on the foothills of the west slope of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Colibrí de Pico Largo.

Sub-species: Long-billed Starthroat (Heliomaster longirostris longirostris), Audebert and Vieillot, 1801. E & SW Colombia S to E Peru and E Bolivia
(Heliomaster longirostris albicrissa), Gould, 1871. W Ecuador to NW Peru (Cajamarca).

Meaning of Name: Heliomaster: Gr. Hēlios= sun and mastēr,  mastēros= searcher, to seek after. longirostris: L. longus= long and rostris,  rostrum= billed, beak.

See more of the Family Trochilidae