Gorgeted Puffleg Eriocnemis isabellae Scientific name definitions

Just discovered in the 21st century, little is known about this critically endangered species. It has been observed only in one area in southwestern Colombia where it lives on montane slopes in elfin forests. Its suitable habitat is smaller than 10 square kilometers and continues to decline due to clearing for illegal coca production (BirdLife International 2011). Unlike others in its genus, the Gorgeted Puffleg has a bicolored gorget of bluish purple and green.

8–9 cm; c. 4·5 g. Rather small puffleg with straight bill and moderately forked tail. Male has forehead to back blackish with golden olive-green iridescence, green gloss on rump, tail dark steely blue; upperwing-coverts like mantle, flight-feathers dark greyish; underparts with glittering gorget violet-blue at centre and green at sides, breast and belly rather velvety black, glossed with green at sides, blue undertail-coverts, contrasting white downy leg puffs; iris dark brownish; bill black; legs blackish. Differs from E. nigrivestis mainly in having unique, bicolored gorget, which is blue-violet centrally and green laterally. Female is more bronzy green, grading to bluish on rump and uppertail-coverts; below, feathers of central belly more intensively fringed rufous with turquoise reflection, as compared with E. nigrivestis. Juvenile undescribed.

Serranía del Pinche (Cauca), in W Andes of SW Colombia.

Territorial call a frequently repeated monosyllabic, sharp “twek”, lower-pitched than those of similar-sized congeners, e.g. E. vestita and E. nigrivestis, and different from the insect-like calls of E. derbyi and E. glaucopoides. No information on song.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Chocó EBA. Has a tiny known range at a single location BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Eriocnemis isabellae. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 14/01/2015. , with available habitat probably less than 10 km² in extent (2 Cortés-Diago, A., Ortega, L.A., Mazariegos-Hurtado, L. and Weller, A.A. (2007). A new species of Eriocnemis (Trochilidae) from southwest Colombia. Orn. Neotropical. 18(2): 161–170. Close ). Based on known densities of the congeneric E. derbyi (20−90 birds per km² (3 Cresswell, W., M. Hughes, R. Mellanby, S. Bright, P. Catry, J. Chaves, J. Freile, A. Gabela, H. Martineau, R. Macleod, F. McPhee, N. Anderson, S. Holt, S. Barabas, C. Chapel, and T. Sánchez (1999). Densities and habitat preferences of Andean cloud-forest birds in pristine and degraded habitats in north-eastern Ecuador. Bird Conservation International 9(2):129–145. Close ) ), the global population has been estimated at 900 individuals (4 Gallo-Cajiao, E. and López-O., H.P. (2014). Eriocnemis isabellae. Pp. 125-128 in:. Close ). Numbers almost certainly small, and thought to be decreasing owing to habitat loss; forest loss in the area is estimated to be 500 ha per year (4 Gallo-Cajiao, E. and López-O., H.P. (2014). Eriocnemis isabellae. Pp. 125-128 in:. Close ). Main threat is shift of agricultural border towards the forest; in particular, the extension of growing of illegal crops (mainly coca and poppy) leads to damage of much habitat potentially suitable for this puffleg, although this may be a threat mainly at lower elevation. In addition, there are plans to construct roads in the area, which would have major implications for Serranía del Pinche. Further study is required to determine the distribution and population size of this hummingbird in order to develop a specific management plan for the species (2 Cortés-Diago, A., Ortega, L.A., Mazariegos-Hurtado, L. and Weller, A.A. (2007). A new species of Eriocnemis (Trochilidae) from southwest Colombia. Orn. Neotropical. 18(2): 161–170. Close ). Serranía del Pinche should be strictly protected in order to conserve this and other threatened species (2 Cortés-Diago, A., Ortega, L.A., Mazariegos-Hurtado, L. and Weller, A.A. (2007). A new species of Eriocnemis (Trochilidae) from southwest Colombia. Orn. Neotropical. 18(2): 161–170. Close ); since 2007, it has been designated as the 7256 ha Serranía del Pinche Protective Forest Reserve (4 Gallo-Cajiao, E. and López-O., H.P. (2014). Eriocnemis isabellae. Pp. 125-128 in:. Close ). Considered Critically Endangered at the national level in Colombia (5 Renjifo, L. M., M. F. Gómez, J. Velásquez-Tibatá, A. M. Amaya-Villarreal, G. H. Kattan, J. D. Amaya-Espinel, and J. Burbano-Girón, Editors (2014). Libro Rojo de Aves de Colombia, Volume I: bosques húmedos de los Andes y la costa Pacífica. Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana & Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Close ).