Glowing Puffleg
Common name: Glowing Puffleg
Scientific name: Eriocnemis vestita
Clades: Heliantheini - Brilliants
The Glowing puffleg is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long. Males weigh 3.3 to 7.2 g (0.12 to 0.25 oz) and females 3.6 to 5.3 g (0.13 to 0.19 oz).
The Glowing Puffleg is a beautiful hummingbird but might be confused with other puffleg species. In both males and females, the throat and undertail coverts are purple, and the leg puffs are strikingly white. A darker green glows above the males' rump, while the rump glows a lighter green. It is common for females to have buffy throats spotted with purple dots and buffy chests spotted with green spots. A Glowing Puffleg is somewhat elusive and doesn't often stay in sight for long. As they gather nectar from low shrubs, they hover or briefly cling to small tubular flowers. Often, Glowing Pufflegs are quite territorial and defend flowers, but sometimes they simply visit flowers frequently without guarding them. The hummingbirds are found in montane forest openings, pasture openings in the highlands, and shrubby areas between woodland and paramo habitats.
4 subspecies:
E. v. paramillo
Distribution N parts of West and C Andes of Colombia (Antioquia).E. v. vestita
Distribution NW Venezuela (Mérida) and E and C Andes of Colombia (S to Cundinamarca and Huila).E. v. smaragdinipectus
Distribution S Colombia (C Andes in Cauca) S to Andes of Ecuador (S to Cañar).E. v. arcosae
Distribution Andes of S Ecuador (Azuay) S to extreme N Peru (E Piura, N Cajamarca).
