Coppery-bellied puffleg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Coppery-bellied puffleg |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Eriocnemis |
| Species: |
E. cupreoventris
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| Binomial name | |
| Eriocnemis cupreoventris (Fraser, 1840)
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| Synonyms | |
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Eriocnemis simplex |
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The coppery-bellied puffleg (Eriocnemis cupreoventris) is a beautiful type of hummingbird. It belongs to a group of hummingbirds called "brilliants." You can find this special bird living in the countries of Colombia and Venezuela.
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About the Coppery-bellied Puffleg
What is a Coppery-bellied Puffleg?
The coppery-bellied puffleg is a unique bird. It is the only species in its group, meaning it doesn't have any close relatives that are also called "coppery-bellied pufflegs."
How to Spot a Coppery-bellied Puffleg
This hummingbird is quite small. It is about 9 to 10 centimeters (3.5 to 4 inches) long. It weighs only about 4.4 to 5.6 grams, which is less than a quarter of an ounce!
Males have bright green feathers on their upper body. Their tail feathers are a shiny bluish-green. Their throat, chest, and sides are also a sparkling green. The middle of their belly has a special golden-copper color. Their undertail feathers are a glittering violet. They have fluffy white feathers on their legs, which look like little puffs. Their tail is split and is blue-black.
Females look similar to males. However, their throat has small grayish-white spots. Their coppery belly color is also not as bright. Young birds have a darker chest and do not have the copper color on their belly yet. All coppery-bellied pufflegs have a straight, black beak.
Where Coppery-bellied Pufflegs Live
Their Home and Habitat
The coppery-bellied puffleg lives in the Andes mountains. You can find them from northwestern Venezuela down into the eastern Andes of Colombia. They live as far south as the Cundinamarca area in Colombia.
These birds prefer open areas. They like the edges of mountain forests and bushy slopes. They also live in the lower parts of a special mountain grassland called páramo. Sometimes, they can be found inside humid forests too. They usually live at heights between 2,000 and 3,000 meters (about 6,500 to 9,800 feet) above sea level. They are most common above 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet).
How Coppery-bellied Pufflegs Live
Their Daily Movements
Coppery-bellied pufflegs mostly stay in one area. But they do move up and down the mountains depending on the season. This is called making "seasonal elevational movements."
What They Eat
These hummingbirds mostly drink nectar from flowers. They like shrubs and small trees that have short flowers. Some of their favorite plants include Palicourea, Cavendishia, and Pernettya. They often cling to the flower while they feed. They are known to be quite "territorial" and will defend their favorite flowering plants. Besides nectar, they also eat insects. They catch insects by flying out and grabbing them in the air, a method called "hawking."
How They Raise Their Young
The breeding season for coppery-bellied pufflegs is from September to January. We don't know much about their nests, but they are usually built in thick plants. The female bird lays two white eggs. She sits on the eggs to keep them warm, a process called incubation. However, we don't know how long this takes or how long it takes for the baby birds to leave the nest.
Their Calls and Sounds
The coppery-bellied puffleg makes a simple sound. It is described as a single metallic note, like "tseek." They repeat this sound now and then. They make this sound both when they are sitting on a branch and when they are hovering in the air.
Protecting the Coppery-bellied Puffleg
Their Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the coppery-bellied puffleg as "Near Threatened." This means they are not in immediate danger, but their numbers could become low if we don't protect them.
Their living area is not very large. We don't know exactly how many of these birds there are. However, experts believe their population is getting smaller. A big reason for this is that much of their natural home has been changed. People have turned their habitats into farms for crops and places for animals to graze.
 | Selma Burke |
 | Pauline Powell Burns |
 | Frederick J. Brown |
 | Robert Blackburn |
