Oreonympha nobilis Gould, 1869

Size

The bearded mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis Gould, 1869) measures 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) in total length, which includes its approximately 2.3 cm (0.91 in) long bill. It weighs around 7 to 9 g (0.25 to 0.32 oz).

Nominate Male Head Plumage

Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a deep purplish blue forecrown and crown marked with a narrow black stripe down the middle. Their face is bronzy black, with a narrow white band at the back of the face.

Nominate Male Gorget

The gorget is long and narrow: emerald green under the chin, with the remaining portion purplish and tipped blue.

Nominate Male Body Plumage

The nape, back, and rump are colored bronzy to bronzy brown.

Nominate Male Tail

The tail is long and deeply forked; its feathers are bronzy, with an increasing amount of white from the innermost to outermost feathers.

Nominate Male Underparts

The center of the breast is white, the sides of the breast and flanks are brownish, and the undertail coverts are bronzy brown.

Adult Female Plumage

Adult females are similar to males, but are duller overall and have a dingier underbelly. Their gorget is smaller and mostly white, and their tail is less deeply forked.

Shared Adult Traits

Both sexes have black bills and black legs.

Juvenile Plumage

Juveniles are duller than adults, with a scaly green crown, a dull brown throat, and a yellow mandible.

O. n. albolimbata Male Traits

Males of the subspecies O. n. albolimbata have white bands on either side of the crown and a much more coppery tail.

O. n. albolimbata Female Traits

Females of this subspecies have white that extends from the same crown white bands through the lores to the gorget.

Nominate Subspecies Distribution

The nominate "eastern" subspecies of bearded mountaineer occurs in the Apurímac and Cuzco departments of south-central Peru, in the drainages of the Urubamba and upper Apurímac rivers.

O. n. albolimbata Distribution

The "western" subspecies O. n. albolimbata is found in Peru's Huancavelica, Ayacucho, and Apurímac departments, in the drainages of the Mantaro, Pampas, and Chalhuanca rivers.

Habitat

This species lives in dry Andean valleys that have rocky, scrubby hillsides and open woodland. It occurs in a range of native plant communities, and is also regularly found in stands of tree tobacco (Nicotiana) and Eucalyptus, even alongside roads and within towns.

Elevational Range

Its elevational range is 2,500 to 3,900 m (8,200 to 12,800 ft).