Golden-breasted puffleg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Golden-breasted puffleg |
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| Yanacocha, Ecuador | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Eriocnemis |
| Species: |
E. mosquera
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| Binomial name | |
| Eriocnemis mosquera (Delattre & Bourcier, 1846)
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The golden-breasted puffleg (Eriocnemis mosquera) is a beautiful type of hummingbird. It's known for its bright, shiny feathers. You can find this small bird living in the mountains of Colombia and Ecuador in South America.
Contents
Meet the Golden-Breasted Puffleg
This amazing hummingbird is usually about 11 to 13 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) long. That's about the length of a pen! It weighs around 5.3 grams, which is less than a nickel.
What Does It Look Like?
Both male and female golden-breasted pufflegs have a straight, black beak. Their upper bodies are a shiny green, with a slightly bronzier green on their neck and lower back.
The male bird has a glittering golden-green chest and belly. Its lower throat and upper chest are a coppery bronze color. The feathers under its tail are brownish. One of its most special features is the fluffy white feathers on its legs, which look like little "puffs"! Its tail is forked, with blue-green feathers in the middle and darker green to blue-black feathers on the outside.
The female is a little smaller than the male. Her undertail feathers are a bit greener, but otherwise, she looks very similar to the male.
Where Does It Live?
The golden-breasted puffleg lives in the Andes mountains. In Colombia, you can find it in the central and western parts of the Andes. It also lives along most of the Andes mountains in Ecuador.
Its Mountain Home
These birds prefer to live in the edges of mountain forests. They also like clearings and shrubby areas near the treeline. These are places where the trees are often short and twisted due because of the high altitude.
In Colombia, they are found between 1,200 and 3,600 meters (about 3,900 to 11,800 feet) above sea level. However, they usually live above 2,600 meters (about 8,500 feet). In Ecuador, they mostly live even higher, between 3,000 and 3,600 meters (about 9,800 to 11,800 feet).
How It Behaves
Golden-breasted pufflegs are very active birds. They are always busy looking for food and defending their territory.
Daily Movements
Scientists think that these birds might move to different elevations depending on the season. However, this hasn't been fully proven yet.
What It Eats
Like other hummingbirds, the golden-breasted puffleg mainly drinks nectar from flowers. It can hover in the air while feeding, or it might cling to the flower. These birds are known to be quite "active and aggressive" when protecting their feeding spots from other birds.
Besides nectar, they also eat small insects. This gives them the protein they need to stay healthy and energetic.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Not much is known about how golden-breasted pufflegs raise their young. One nest was found in Colombia in November. It was shaped like a cup and made of moss and small sticks. The inside was lined with soft plant material.
The nest was placed on the end of a thin branch, tucked under a rock overhang. An adult bird was sitting on the nest, which probably meant it was incubating eggs.
Its Calls
The golden-breasted puffleg makes simple "trit" sounds. These calls help them communicate with other birds.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the golden-breasted puffleg as a species of "Least Concern." This means that it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
Even though its range is somewhat small and we don't know the exact number of birds, its population seems to be stable. There are no immediate threats that worry scientists. It is considered common in Colombia and fairly common in Ecuador. Human activities like habitat destruction can affect them locally, but overall, the species is doing well.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
