Oreotrochilus estella
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Andean hillstar (Oreotrochilus estella) is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Subspecies bolivianus has been variously treated as a separate species and as indistinguishable from the nominate and therefore not a subspecies; these treatments have not been accepted by current taxomomies. Until 2019 what is now the green-headed hillstar (O. stolzmanni) was considered a third subspecies of the Andean. The white-sided hillstar (O. leucopleurus) has been suggested as another subspecies of the Andean rather than a full species but that treatment has also not been accepted.
The Andean hillstar is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. Males weigh about 8.8 g (0.31 oz) and females about 8.0 g (0.28 oz). Adults have a medium length slightly decurved black bill. The adult male of the nominate subspecies has drab brown upperparts. It has a shiny green gorget with a black border that separates it from the white breast and belly. The belly has a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Hillstar sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 413 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Hillstar in Lauca National Park on a given day, against about 30% in February, the lowest month. That is one of Lauca National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 150 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Andean Hillstar sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Lauca National Park, in our data
Lauca National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Andean Hillstar sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Andean Hillstar that you can see in Lauca National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Giant Hummingbird (about 20%) and Sparkling Violetear (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Andean Hillstar is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (413 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
