Green-bearded Helmetcrest

The green-bearded helmetcrest is 11.2 to 12.7 cm (4.4 to 5.0 in) long. Males weight about 5.7 g (0.20 oz) and females 4.8 g (0.17 oz) It has a short straight black bill. The adult male has a long white crest and a mostly dark brown to black face with a white "collar". Its upperparts are bronzy. It has a thin glittering green gorget with white edges that forms a "beard". The rest of the underparts are grayish bronzy. The tail is moderately long, forked, and coppery to bronzy green with much white on the outer feathers. The adult female is similar to the male but lacks the crest and beard, and its underparts are buffy white with some greenish mottling. Juveniles resemble the adult female; the male has a partial crest and beard.

The green-bearded helmetcrest is found in Colombia's Eastern Andes as far south as Cundinamarca Department. It inhabits humid páramo, especially that with Espeletia vegetation. It also sometimes occurs at the edge of Polylepis woodlands. Females often occur in gorges while males tend to remain in more open landscapes. In elevation the species ranges between 3,000 and 4,200 m (9,800 and 13,800 ft).

The green-bearded helmetcrest feeds on nectar at a wide variety of flowering plants but is partial to Espeletia species. It nectars mostly by clinging to flowers but does hover to feed. It is thought that the short, fine bill of this bird and the other Oxypogon species is an adaption to facilitate extracting nectar from the numerous tiny florets of the flower heads of these plants. It also feeds on insects that it catches insects on the ground, by hovering, or by jumping or hawking from the ground or a perch.