Hoary puffleg

The hoary puffleg is monotypic.[3]

The hoary puffleg is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 5 to 6 g (0.18 to 0.21 oz).[5] It has a straight black bill. Males have bronze-green upperparts with a coppery hue on the crown and rump. The underparts are dark gray with a whitish scaly appearance on the throat and breast and a greenish sheen on the flanks. The leg puffs are white on the outside and chestnut on the inside. The slightly forked tail is blackish. Females are similar but duller overall and their leg puffs are entirely white. Juveniles resemble females.[6]

The hoary puffleg is found in a fairly narrow band on the Pacific slope of the Andes, from southwestern Colombia's Nariño Department south into Ecuador as far as Pichincha Province. It inhabits cloudforest, the borders of other types of tropical and subtropical forest, and scrublands. It tends to stay in low dense vegetation, often near streams. In Colombia it has been recorded between elevations of 1,200 and 2,000 m (3,900 and 6,600 ft) and locally as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft). In Ecuador records span from 1,525 to 2,100 m (5,000 to 6,900 ft).[6]

The IUCN originally assessed the hoary puffleg as Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as Near Threatened. It has a very small range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing.[1] It is found in a few protected areas but "suitable habitat is rapidly disappearing due to extensive deforestation."[6]