Includes Coppery-naped Puffleg
- Eriocnemis luciani
Identification
12 cm - a relatively large puffleg
- minor to no sexual dimorphism
- mostly green, small white post-ocular spot
- bluish frontlet and bluish cast on throat
- long, dark bluish-purple, forked tail
- undertail area purple
- legs surrounded by fluffy, white feathers
Variation
The form in Peru has coppery tones on nape.
Distribution
The Andes: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy
Five subspecies recognized1:
- E. l.i meridae in the Andes of west Venezuela (Mérida)
- E. l. luciani in the Andes of southwest Colombia (Nariño) and north Ecuador
- E. l. baptistae in the Andes of central and southern Ecuador
- E. l. catharina in the east slope of the Andes of northern Peru, from Amazonas (south and east of the Marañón Valley) south to southeastern La Libertad
- E. l. sapphiropygia in the east slope of the Andes of central and southern Peru, from Pasco south to Puno
The subspecies catharina and sapphiropygia were formerly regarded as separate species (Coppery-naped Puffleg, Eriocnemis sapphiropygia) by some authorities.
Habitat
Montane forests in the cloud forest belt. The species is described to occur at 2900-3600 m asl, but photos in the gallery are taken down to below 1600 m.
Behaviour
Readily comes to hummingbird feeders if they are present in the area.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2) DRAFT. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Sapphire-vented Puffleg. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sapphire-vented_Puffleg
