Hoary Puffleg
Haplophaedia lugens
Dull hummingbird restricted to mid-elevation Andean cloud forest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Mostly green, but underparts are grayer with white scaling; also note coppery tinge to crown and rump. White leg puffs are usually conspicuous on male, but they are much smaller on female and immature and can be concealed behind belly feathers. Scarce; usually encountered feeding low inside forest, often near streams.
Identification
The hoary puffleg is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 5 to 6 g (0.18 to 0.21 oz). It has a straight black bill. Males have bronze-green upperparts with a coppery hue on the crown and rump. The underparts are dark gray with a whitish scaly appearance on the throat and breast and a greenish sheen on the flanks. The leg puffs are white on the outside and chestnut on the inside. The slightly forked tail is blackish. Females are similar but duller overall and their leg puffs are entirely white. Juveniles resemble females.
Taxonomy
The hoary puffleg is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Haplophaedia lugens
- Authority
- (Gould, 1852)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Haplophaedia
Range and habitat
The hoary puffleg is found in a fairly narrow band on the Pacific slope of the Andes, from southwestern Colombia's Nariño Department south into Ecuador as far as Pichincha Province. It inhabits cloudforest, the borders of other types of tropical and subtropical forest, and scrublands. It tends to stay in low dense vegetation, often near streams. In Colombia it has been recorded between elevations of 1,200 and 2,000 m (3,900 and 6,600 ft) and locally as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft). In Ecuador records span from 1,525 to 2,100 m (5,000 to 6,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The hoary puffleg is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The hoary puffleg forages for nectar mostly near the ground but occasionally in the canopy. It is territorial and defends clusters of flowers. It typically feeds on flowers with short corollas such as Besleria sp., Palicourea sp., Thibaudia sp., Melastomataceae, and Marantaceae. In addition to nectar, it feeds on insects that it gleans from leaves.<p>The hoary puffleg's breeding season has not been well defined, but nesting has been recorded in May and August. The nest is a hanging cup or ball made of moss and spiderweb; it is attached to the underside of a fern or other large leaf that protects it from rain. It is typically 0.5 to 2 m (2 to 7 ft) above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two white eggs for 15 to 17 days and fledging occurs 20 to 24 days after hatch.<p>Only one hoary puffleg vocalization has been described, "a single strident 'tzik' or doubled 'tsi-tsik', repeated at irregular intervals". It is given both from a perch and in flight.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Brown-rumped Tapaculo
Scytalopus latebricola
Small, mouse-like bird found only at higher elevations in Colombia’s Santa Marta Mountains. Adult is gray with a bit of brown on the rump and lower underparts. Young birds are browner with dark barring and scaling. The only other tapaculo in range is Santa Marta Tapaculo, which has a white crown patch, occurs at lower elevations, and has a different voice. Song starts with several sharp notes, and then abruptly morphs into a harsh, rapid trill. Skulks in cloud forest understory, where it is normally hard to see well.
Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla
Distinctive and handsome orange-breasted finch. Note black head of males (solid in breeding season, patchy in non-breeding) and gray-and-brown head of females. Complex wing patterns and white rump patches create a wondrous show when a flock rises up in flight. Breeds in northern woodlands, especially in and around birches; winters in varied wooded habitats (especially with beech trees), semiopen country, and farmland with hedges; sometimes visits gardens and parks with feeders or fruiting trees. Song is surprising and almost ugly for such a well-marked finch, a strange ringing buzz: “eerRRRRNnnn.” Gives a rising “qweee”, a higher-pitchd “tsi, tsi”, and various twittering and nasal flock calls.
Black-faced Bunting
Emberiza spodocephala
A small songbird that often skulks deep in shrubbery but emerges to forage in the open more than some buntings. Adult male has grayish head and chest, yellow belly, and chestnut back and wings. Female is drab brown and extensively streaked overall. Female is somewhat similar to Gray or Masked buntings but has a paler base to the streaked underparts. Song consists of a variable series of alternating buzzy and warbled notes. A sharp “dink” call often betrays its presence.
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