The Ecuadorian Hillstar occupies very high elevations of 11500 feet and higher. It’s a near endemic to Ecuador and its territory barely reaches a tiny patch of southern Colombia. The male is spectacular with its deep purple-blue hood that looks purple or blue or both depending on the light.

It has a white chest with a single black stripe down the middle. The bill is curved. The central tail feathers are dark and the rest are white with dark tips. The hummingbird feeds on the bright orange flowers of the Chuquiraga bushes that grow high up in the paramo.

Its feet are rather large for a hummingbird of its size, and he uses them to cling to the flower as he is feeding, rather than hovering in front of them. This feature helps it conserve energy in this oxygen poor environment.

Usually they are seen keeping watch over their territory from a perch at the top of a plant. In bad weather it will find a lower more protected perch. And because they live in high elevation cold climates, they save energy by going into torpor each night, sometimes in protected areas such as caves or crevices.

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