Coppery-bellied Puffleg Eriocnemis cupreoventris Scientific name definitions

Males and females are similar with green above and below that turns into rufous orange on the lower chest and belly. Their white leg puffs contrast with their purple under tail coverts. Active and aggressive, Coppery-bellied Pufflegs are adamant chasers of other hummingbirds. They are usually solitary and rather inconspicuous as they feed from long tubular flowers on low shrubs or small trees. Coppery-bellied Pufflegs inhabit the edges of montane forests, shrubby slopes, open páramo, thickets, and wet stunted woodlands.

9–10 cm; 4·4–5·6 g (1 Echeverry-Galvis, M. Á., S. Córdoba-Córdoba, C. A. Peraza, M. P. Baptiste, and O. A. Ahumada (2006). Body weights of 98 species of Andean cloud-forest birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 126(4):291–298. Close ). Bill straight, black. Male shining green above, becoming bluish green on uppertail-coverts; underparts glittering green, becoming golden-copper on centre of belly; undertail-coverts glittering violet, contrasting with forked blue-black tail and white downy leg puffs. Sexes similar, but female has greyish-white speckled throat and less coppery underparts. Juvenile has breast blackish, belly lacks the coppery hue.

NW Venezuela (Andes of Mérida) and E Andes of Colombia (S to Cundinamarca).

Only known vocalization is a single metallic note “tseek”, repeated at irregular intervals, and given both when perched or in hovering flight.

Not globally threatend. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Restricted-range species: present in Cordillera de Mérida EBA and Colombian East Andes EBA. Locally fairly common; although there are many records from Cundinamarca (Colombia) and Mérida (Venezuela) at the extremes of the range, only a few observations have been made for the intervening regions.