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
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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