The buff-thighed puffleg (''Haplophaedia assimilis'') 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

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

.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 buff-thighed puffleg was for a time considered to be a subspecies of

greenish puffleg The greenish puffleg (''Haplophaedia aureliae'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of ...

(''H. aureliae'') but was then returned to full species status. As of early 2022 it is again under consideration for reinclusion in ''H. aureliae'' but the proposal does not have much support. It has two recognized subspecies, the nominate ''H. a. assimilis'' and ''H. a. affinis''.

Description

The buff-thighed puffleg is long and weighs . It has a straight blackish bill. Adults of both sexes of the nominate subspecies are mostly dark green and have a slightly forked blue-black tail. Their namesake leg puffs are creamy buff to whitish. ''H. a. affinis'' is a darker green overall and has a bluer tail; its leg puffs are pale rufous. Juveniles are like adults with the addition of brown fringes on the feathers of the head and neck.Heynen, I. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Buff-thighed Puffleg (''Haplophaedia assimilis''), 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.butpuf1.01 retrieved March 11, 2022

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies ''H. a. affinis'' of the buff-thighed puffleg is the more northerly of the two. It is found on the eastern slope of the Andes in northern and central Peru. The nominate ''H. a. assimilis'' is found from the eastern Andean slope of Peru's Department of Cuzco southeast into central Bolivia as far as Cochabamba Department. It inhabits the undergrowth and edges of humid to wet pre-

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

. In elevation it ranges between but seldom occurs above .

Behavior

Movement

The buff-thighed puffleg is thought to seasonally disperse to the lower parts of its elevational range.

Feeding

The buff-thighed puffleg mostly feeds near the ground, taking nectar from small groups of flowers. It is territorial and defends clusters of flowering bushes. In addition to nectar, it feeds on insects that it usually gleans from leaves but occasionally catches 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 ...

from a perch.

Breeding

Almost nothing is known about the buff-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 ...

. It is known that the female alone incubates the clutch of two white eggs.

Vocalization

What is thought to be the buff-thighed puffleg's song is "a repeated single strident note 'tsuk...tsuk...tsuk...'... occasionally interspersed by a double-noted 'tsi-tsuk'". It also makes "a dry rattle and some chattering notes in series."

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 buff-thighed puffleg as being of Least Concern, though its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. It appears to be "generally fairly common" though ''H. a. affinis'' is known from only a few localities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1033761 buff-thighed puffleg Birds of the Peruvian Andes Birds of the Bolivian Andes buff-thighed puffleg Taxonomy articles created by Polbot