Oreotrochilus chimborazo (Delattre & Bourcier, 1846)

Size Measurements

This species, Oreotrochilus chimborazo, reaches an approximate length of 12 cm and an average weight of 8.0 g. It has a black, slightly decurved bill that is around 2 cm long.

Male Plumage - Head & Chest

Males have a glittering violet-purple hood, bordered below by a horizontal black chest stripe.

Male Plumage - Body & Tail

Their upperparts are dark olive green, and their underparts are white with a dark central line running down the belly. The central tail feathers are blue-green; the remaining tail feathers are mostly white with black tips and edges.

Female Plumage

Females are duller than males, with dusty olive green upperparts, a whitish throat marked with brown speckles, a dark tail, and pale grayish underparts.

Subspecies Distinction Basis

There are two generally recognized subspecies, distinguishable by male throat patterning.

O. c. jamesonii Male Throat Pattern

Males of the subspecies O. c. jamesonii have an entirely glittering violet-purple throat.

Nominate Subspecies Male Throat Pattern

Males of the nominate subspecies O. c. chimborazo have a violet-purple upper throat, and a glittering aquamarine patch on the lower throat.

Shared Subspecies Trait

Both subspecies have the same black chest stripe bordering the throat.

O. c. chimborazo Distribution

The nominate O. c. chimborazo is found around the Chimborazo and Quilotoa volcanoes and the paramo between these two sites.

O. c. jamesonii Distribution

O. c. jamesonii has a wider distribution; it occupies suitable habitats from southern Colombia to the mountains of Ecuador's Azuay Province, occurring especially around the volcanoes of Cotacachi, Pichincha, Antisana, Iliniza, and Cotopaxi.

Proposed Third Subspecies

A third proposed subspecies, O. c. soderstromi, is thought to be endemic to Quilotoa volcano in Ecuador.

O. c. soderstromi Validity Concerns

This subspecies has not been recorded since it was originally described, and its original description matches that of an intergrade between the two other recognized subspecies. Both O. c. chimborazo and O. c. jamesonii have been recorded at the type locality of O. c. soderstromi, so O. c. soderstromi may not be a valid subspecies.