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 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 2021Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 January 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved February 1, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

An early author included ''Haplophaedia'' in genus ''Eriocnemis'' but later work confirmed that they are separate sister genera.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 January 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved February 1, 2022

The greenish puffleg has six recognized subspecies (but see the text below the list):

*''H. a. floccus'' Nelson (1912)
*''H. a. galindoi'' Wetmore (1967)
*''H. a. caucensis'' Simon (1911)
*''H. a. aureliae'' Bourcier & Mulsant (1846)
*''H. a. russata'' Gould (1871)
*''H. a. cutucuensis'' Schuchmann, Weller, & Heynen (2000)

The taxonomy of this species is unsettled. ''H. a. russata'' has sometimes been treated as a separate species. ''H. a. floccus'' and ''H. a. galindoi'' have sometimes been included in ''H. a. caucensis''.Heynen, I. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Greenish Puffleg (''Haplophaedia aureliae''), 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.grepuf1.01 retrieved March 10, 2022 The two subspecies of buff-thighed puffleg (''H. assimilis'') were originally included in ''H. aureliae'', then split from it. As of early 2022 ''H. assimilis'' is under consideration for reinclusion in ''aureliae'' but the proposal does not have much support. The greenish and buff-thighed pufflegs are now treated as sister species.

Description

The greenish puffleg is long and weighs . Males of the nominate subspecies have green upperparts with a coppery hue on the head and neck. The underparts are duller green with a grayish white scaly appearance. The leg puffs are white on the outside and buff on the inside. The slightly forked tail is blue-black. Females are similar but their underparts are more heavily scaled and their leg puffs entirely white. Juveniles resemble females.

Subspecies ''H. a. caucensis'' has grass green upperparts with a more intense coppery tinge on the head and rump than the nominate, and also a white patch on the belly. Males of ''H. a. floccus'' are similar to ''caucensis'' but with paler green underparts and less of a coppery tinge on the upperparts, but in addition bright cinnamon uppertail coverts. The female's foreneck and breast have prominent white scaling. Males of ''H. a. galindoi'' are darker green above and below compared to ''floccus'' and the scaling of females' underparts is more muted. ''H. a. russata'' has a longer bill and brighter copper upperparts than the nominate and its underparts are scaled brown rather than grayish white. ''H. a. cutucuensis'' is like the nominate but with much heavier grayish white scaling on the underparts.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the greenish puffleg are found thus:Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021

*''H. a. floccus'', extreme eastern Panama and adjacent northwestern Colombia
*''H. a. galindoi'', Cerro Pire in extreme eastern Panama
*''H. a. caucensis'', from southeastern Panama into the Western and Central Andes of Colombia
*''H. a. aureliae'', Colombia's Eastern Andes and possibly the eastern slope of the Central Andes
*''H. a. russata'', the eastern slope of the Ecuadorean Andes as far south as Pastaza Province
*''H. a. cutucuensis'', from the eastern slope of the southern Ecuadorean Andes into Peru to the border of Amazonas and San Martín departments

The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy include Peru in the species' range but the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) does not.

Behavior

Movement

The greenish puffleg possibly makes seasonal elevational movements.

Feeding

The greenish puffleg forages for nectar mostly in the lower levels of the forest but will go to the canopy to feed at flowering ''Inga'' trees. It is territorial and defends clusters of flowers. In addition to nectar, it feeds on insects that it gleans from leaves.

Breeding

The greenish puffleg's breeding season appears to be from December to March but nesting activity has been recorded in other months as well. The female builds a cup nest of moss and cobwebs lined with fine plant material and suspends it below a large leaf that provides protection from rain. It is usually within about of the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs; incubation time and time to fledging are not known.

Vocalization

Groups of male greenish pufflegs sing from high perches, "endlessly repeating a double-noted 'tur seet' or 'tskut'".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the greenish puffleg as being of Least Concern. Though its population size is not known, it is believed to be stable. The various subspecies range from generally uncommon to common and locally abundant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q428275

greenish puffleg
Birds of the Colombian Andes
Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes
greenish puffleg
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot