The black-thighed puffleg (''Eriocnemis derbyi'') is a species of

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

in the "brilliants", tribe

Heliantheini Heliantheini is one of the two tribes that make up the subfamily Lesbiinae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other tribe in the subfamily is Lesbiini. The informal name "brilliants" has been proposed for this group as it includes the ge ...

in subfamily

Lesbiinae Lesbiinae is one of the six subfamily, subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family (biology), family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into two Tribe (biology), tribes: Heliantheini ("brilliants") containing 14 genera and Lesbiini ("coqu ...

. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip xls zipped 1 MBretrieved 27 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The black-thighed puffleg is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

though at one time it was thought to have two subspecies.Heynen, I. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Black-thighed Puffleg (''Eriocnemis derbyi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bltpuf1.01 retrieved 13 March 2022

Description

The black-thighed puffleg is about long. It has a straight blackish bill. Males are mostly shining golden green overall, sometimes with black hightlights, and has glittering malachite green upper- and undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

. Their leg puffs are black and the tail is forked and black. Females are similar but have white underparts with green spots, and their leg puffs are a mix of black and grayish white. The female also has a blue tinge to the forehead. Juveniles resemble females.

Distribution and habitat

The black-thighed puffleg is found in the Central Andes of Colombia from Tolima Department and south to

Imbabura Province Imbabura () is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language. The s ...

in northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits bushy pastures and the edges of humid forest, and in Colombia has also been recorded in shrubby ravines. It prefers somewhat open landscapes. In elevation it ranges from and is most common above .

Behavior

Movement

The black-thighed puffleg makes seasonal elevational movements.

Feeding

The black-thighed puffleg feeds on nectar, usually at the flowers of low-growing plants like ''

Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...

'' and

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

. Its diet also includes insects taken by

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

Breeding

Very little is known about the black-thighed puffleg's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

. Its nesting season has not been defined but appears to include February. The female incubates the two white eggs; the incubation period and time to fledging are not known.

Vocalization

The black-thighed puffleg's only described vocalization is "a short buzzy trill 'tzzrr', repeated at irregular intervals". It is given both from a perch and while hovering, and is very different than the sounds of other ''Eriocnemis'' pufflegs.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the black-thighed puffleg as Near Threatened. It has a moderately small range; its population size is not known and believed to be decreasing due to habitat loss. It is considered uncommon to locally common, and " adily takes to man-made habitats like pastures and gardens".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1269434

black-thighed puffleg The black-thighed puffleg (''Eriocnemis derbyi'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of ...

Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot