[pph]

On a walking holiday in northern Peru I found this hummingbird, high up in the mountains (about 5000m / 16000ft).

Being from Europe I'm not familiar with hummingbirds, so would appreciate if somebody could help with identifying this one. Photo was taken in April.

Bird was sitting still like in hibernation, it was alive but not reacting to anything. Is this normal? What was it doing so high up in the mountains near the glaciers?

Thanks,
Pasi

[Tz'unun]

Hi, Pasi,

I don't have much experience with South American hummingbirds, but it looks like a Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, which would fit the range. The condition it was in is called "torpor"; it's an energy-saving strategy, like short-term hibernation, that helps hummingbirds survive periods of cold and/or lack of food. The Birds of Ecuador Field Guide gives the species' normal elevational range as 2800-3700 m, so this guy was higher than normal - which may be why he was stressed enough to enter torpor in broad daylight (usually it's an overnight thing).

There are more species of hummingbirds found in mountain habitats than in rainforests, and the higher reaches of the Andes are home to many species that are found nowhere else. This bird's oversized wings and tail may be an adaptation for flight in the thin air.

[Rasmus Boegh]

I'm pretty sure that's an Olivaceous Thornbill (Chalcostigma olivaceum). I'd be interested in a bit more info on the locality, as this is a species of central and southern Peru (not northern). And yes, its normal for these high-altitude hummingbirds to sit completely still for periods, almost appearing as if they sleep. I've seen in several species of Thornbills and also in some Hillstars.

[pph]

It was in the Cordillera Blanca mountains, roughly about 50km north of Huaraz.

[Rasmus Boegh]

Originally Posted by pph

It was in the Cordillera Blanca mountains, roughly about 50km north of Huaraz.

Thanks. That is, according to Fjeldsaa & Krabbe's Birds of the High Andes, the northernmost point in the distribution of the Olivaceous Thornbill. The Blue-mantled Thornbill is much commoner there (indeed, from my experiance that's the commonest hummingbird at some of the localities in Cordillera Blanca), so an Olivaceous is a nice sighting.