Plumeleteer

Chalybura
Bronze-tailed plumeleteer (Chalybura urochrysia)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Strisores
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Tribe:	Trochilini
Genus:	Chalybura Reichenbach, 1854
Type species
Trochilus buffonii Lesson, 1832
Species
2, see text

The plumeleteers are a genus Chalybura of Neotropical hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Chalybura was introduced in 1854 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. He listed three species in the new genus but did not specify the type species. ^[1] In 1879 Daniel Giraud Elliot selected Trochilus buffoni Lesson, the white-vented plumeleteer, as the type. ^{[2] [3]} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek χαλυψ/khalups meaning "steel" with -ουρος/-ouros meaning "-tailed". ^[4]

A phylogenetic study published in 2014 found the genus Chalybura containing the plumeleteers was sister to the genus Thalurania containing the woodnymphs. ^[5]

The genus contains the following two species: ^[6]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Chalybura buffonii	White-vented plumeleteer	Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela
	Chalybura urochrysia	Bronze-tailed plumeleteer	eastern Honduras to northwestern Ecuador

References

1. Reichenbach, Ludwig (1854). "Aufzählung der Colibris Oder Trochilideen in ihrer wahren natürlichen Verwandtschaft, nebst Schlüssel ihrer Synonymik". Journal für Ornithologie (Supplement) (in German). 1: 1–24 [10].
2. Elliot, Daniel Giraud (1879). A Classification and Synopsis of the Trochilidae. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. p. 45.
3. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 78.
4. Jobling, James A. "Chalybura". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
5. McGuire, J.; Witt, C.; Remsen, J.V.; Corl, A.; Rabosky, D.; Altshuler, D.; Dudley, R. (2014). "Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds". Current Biology. 24 (8): 910–916. Bibcode:2014CBio...24..910M. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016 . PMID   24704078.
6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 May 2025.