The turquoise-throated puffleg (''Eriocnemis godini''), also known as Godin's puffleg, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

from Ecuador. It is mostly green with blue undertail coverts and white powder-puffs of downy feathers on the legs, and the male has a bluish-purple throat patch. It is only known from a few specimens taken in the nineteenth century and its taxonomic position is unclear. The type of habitat in which the type species was obtained has largely disappeared, and recent surveys trying to find this bird have failed. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 ...

believes it may be

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, but there is a possibility that some individuals remain, so the bird has been rated as " critically endangered".

Description

Based on the few known

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

s, it has a total length of 10-11 centimetres. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

of the male is predominantly green with a turquoise tinted throat. Both sexes have violet blue untertail-

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 ...

and a straight black bill. The upperparts and the main part of the underparts are shimmering golden green in the males. Rump and uppertail-coverts are bluish green. The throat is pale violet blue and the forked tail is bluish black. The female lacks the throat patches, its plumage is less light and the belly more golden. Like all

puffleg The pufflegs are hummingbirds from the genera ''Eriocnemis'' and ''Haplophaedia''. They occur in humid forest, woodland and shrub at altitudes of 1000 to 4800 m. asl in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. Th ...

s it has striking leg-puffs of dense white downy feather tufts.

Taxonomical debate

The turquoise-throated puffleg is a subject of a

taxonomical In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

debate, at least partially due to its status and the few known

s. Graves (1996) assumed it could be a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between '' E. vestita'' and an undetermined ''

Eriocnemis ''Eriocnemis'' is a genus of hummingbirds, which - together with the species in the genus ''Haplophaedia'' - are known as pufflegs. They occur in humid forest, woodland and shrub at altitudes of 1000 to 4800 m. asl in the Andes of Argentina, Bol ...

'' species, while Ridgely (2001) suggested to see it as

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the ''E. vestita''.RIDGELY, R. S. 2001. Journal für Ornithologie 142, 2001. Fig. 2. Distribution of Eriocnemis vestitus and E. nigrivestis, based on examined skins and literature data

Distribution and status

This hummingbird is only known by six

s which were collected in the 19th century. Only the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

from 1850 has a known locality, it being from the Chillo valley,

Guayllabamba Guayllabamba (Kichwa: ''Wayllapampa'', "green plain") is a small agricultural town (administratively, a rural parish of the canton of Quito) located 29 kilometers northeast of the city of Quito in northern Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ...

plains, Ecuador, at an altitude between 2,100 and 2,300 m asl. Two skins are simply labelled "

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

" - a common practice in the 19th century and not necessarily directly related to the actual locality where they were taken. It has been suggested that these two "Bogotá" specimens originated from

Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the city had appr ...

in Nariño, Colombia. Virtually all presumed habitat at the type locality has been destroyed. Only a few remnants are left in the steep-sided stream-cuts in the arid upper Guaillabamba drainage. After an unconfirmed sighting in 1976, there was a survey in 1980, but this was unsuccessful.

References

External links

BirdLife factsheet - turquoise-throated pufflegPrint by John Gould
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263508

turquoise-throated puffleg The turquoise-throated puffleg (''Eriocnemis godini''), also known as Godin's puffleg, is a species of hummingbird from Ecuador. It is mostly green with blue undertail coverts and white powder-puffs of downy feathers on the legs, and the male has ...

Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Endemic birds of Ecuador Critically endangered animals Critically endangered biota of South America Controversial hummingbird taxa

Description

Taxonomical debate

Distribution and status

See also

References

External links