Order
Caprimulgiformes
Family
Trochilidae
Genus
Oreotrochilus
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.

SPECIES

Andean Hillstar Oreotrochilus estella

Andy Johnson
Version: 1.0 — Published September 21, 2012

Diet and Foraging

Diet

Andean Hillstar feeds on nectar from a variety of native flowering plants during the breeding season, including Cajophora (Loasaceae), cacti such as Opuntia and a red flowering species (Echinopsis?), Bomarea dulcis (Amaryllidaceae), and Chuquiraga spinosa (Compositae) (Dorst 1962, Carpenter 1976, Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990). Nonbreeding hillstars rely more heavily on Chuquiraga, and also visit nonnative plants such as Eucalyptus (Carpenter 1976).

Andean Hillstar often perches instead of hovering while feeding (Carpenter 1976).

As is true of most species of hummingbirds, Andean Hillstar also consumes insects, sallying to the air from the ground or from rocks (Carpenter 1976, Remsen et al. 1986, Rocha and Quiroga 1996).

Foraging Behavior

Recommended Citation

Johnson, A. (2012). Andean Hillstar (Oreotrochilus estella), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.andhil1.01