| Glowing puffleg | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Eriocnemis |
| Species: | E. vestita |
| Binomial name | |
| Eriocnemis vestita (Lesson, 1839) | |
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The glowing puffleg (Eriocnemis vestita) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. [3] [4]
The glowing puffleg has four recognized subspecies: [3]
Several other subspecies have been proposed but all are now (2022) considered to be hybrids or color morphs of these four. [5]
The glowing puffleg is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long. Males weigh 3.3 to 7.2 g (0.12 to 0.25 oz) and females 3.6 to 5.3 g (0.13 to 0.19 oz). It has a straight blackish bill. The nominate subspecies' male has shining dark green upperparts with a golden green rump and uppertail coverts. It has a glittering purple throat patch thinly surrounded by golden green. The rest of its throat and its upper breast are shining blackish green, its belly glittering golden green, and its undertail coverts iridescent purplish blue. Its leg puffs are white. The tail is forked and dark steel blue. The female has shining golden green upperparts. Its throat patch is a few bluish purple discs on a buffy background. The rest of the throat and the breast are buff and the belly grayish white, all with golden green discs. The juvenile is similar to the female. [6]
Subspecies E. v. paramillo is like the nominate but without the golden green fringe to the purple throat. Males of E. v. smaragdinipectus have the largest purple throat patch of all. E. v. arcosae is similar to smaragdinipectus but its rump and uppertail coverts are yellowish green that extends up into the lower back; males also have shorter bills and a grayer belly than the nominate. [6]
The subspecies of glowing puffleg are found thus: [3] [6]
The glowing puffleg inhabits a variety of fairly open landscapes. The edges of cloudforest and elfin forest predominate. It also occurs on brushy slopes, overgrown pastures, and páramo and occasionally in denser subtropical forest. In elevation it ranges between 2,300 and 4,200 m (7,500 and 13,800 ft) but mostly occurs between 2,800 and 3,500 m (9,200 and 11,500 ft). [6]
The glowing puffleg is sedentary. [6]
The glowing puffleg feeds on nectar, usually at the flowers of low-growing shrubs with short corollas. It nectars while hovering, perching, or sometimes clinging to the flower. It is "pugnacious and territorial" at flowering plants. Its diet also includes insects and spiders taken by hawking. [6]
The glowing puffleg's breeding season is not well defined. At least in Colombia's Eastern Andes it appears to have nested in every month except July. The nest has not been described except that it is often built in stands of grass. The female incubates the two white eggs; the incubation period and time to fledging are not known. [6]
The glowing puffleg's only described vocalization is "a single metallic note 'tseek' or doubled 'tsi-tseek', repeated at irregular intervals". It is given both from a perch and while hovering. [6]
The IUCN has assessed the glowing puffleg as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. [1] It occurs in a few protected areas and "[r]eadily accepts secondary growth and overgrown pastures." [6]
The steely-vented hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The amazilia hummingbird is a hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is the only species placed in the genus Amazilis. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its six subspecies differ primarily in their throat and belly colors.
The turquoise-throated puffleg, also known as Godin's puffleg, is a species of hummingbird from Ecuador. It is mostly green with blue undertail coverts and white powder-puffs of downy feathers on the legs, and the male has a bluish-purple throat patch. It is only known from a few specimens taken in the nineteenth century and its taxonomic position is unclear. The type of habitat in which the type species was obtained has largely disappeared, and recent surveys trying to find this bird have failed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature believes it may be extinct, but there is a possibility that some individuals remain, so the bird has been rated as "critically endangered".
Eriocnemis is a genus of hummingbirds, which - together with the species in the genus Haplophaedia - are known as pufflegs. They occur in humid forest, woodland and shrub at altitudes of 1000 to 4800 m. asl in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The males have a colourful green, coppery or blue plumage, and the females are generally somewhat duller. The most striking feature of both sexes in the genus Eriocnemis are their dense snow-white leg-puffs which consist of feather tufts that resemble woolly panties. One species, the black-thighed puffleg - is characterized by black coloured leg-puffs. Most have a contrasting blue, purple or coppery-red vent, but this is green in the black-thighed and emerald-bellied puffleg. Further common features of all species are the straight black bill and the slightly to deeply forked tail. The genus name was coined by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach who called them Snowy panties.
The black-breasted puffleg is a species of hummingbird native to Ecuador. It is Critically Endangered, with no more than 250 individuals remaining in the wild.
The colorful puffleg is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The gorgeted puffleg is a Critically Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia. It was discovered in 2005 and confirmed as a species new to science in 2007.
The shining sunbeam is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The green-bellied hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds” tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The velvet-purple coronet is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The emerald-bellied puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in the subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The coppery-bellied puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The black-thighed puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The blue-capped puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.
The sapphire-vented puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Venezuela.
The golden-breasted puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The greenish puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru.
The purple-throated sunangel is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The great sapphirewing is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The red-stained woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
