Haplophaedia aureliae (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)

Species Size and Weight

The greenish puffleg, Haplophaedia aureliae, is 9 to 11.6 cm (3.5 to 4.6 in) long and weighs 4 to 6.5 g (0.14 to 0.23 oz).

Nominate Male Plumage

Males of the nominate subspecies have green upperparts with a coppery hue on the head and neck. Their underparts are duller green with a grayish white scaly appearance. The leg puffs are white on the outside and buff on the inside, and the slightly forked tail is blue-black.

Female and Juvenile Plumage

Females are similar to males, but their underparts have heavier scaling, and their leg puffs are entirely white. Juveniles resemble females.

Subspecies Variation Introduction

Several other subspecies have distinct physical traits.

Subspecies H. a. caucensis Traits

Subspecies H. a. caucensis has grass green upperparts with a more intense coppery tinge on the head and rump than the nominate, and it also has a white patch on the belly.

Subspecies H. a. floccus Traits

Males of H. a. floccus are similar to H. a. caucensis, but have paler green underparts, less coppery tinge on the upperparts, and bright cinnamon uppertail coverts; the female of H. a. floccus has prominent white scaling on the foreneck and breast.

Subspecies H. a. galindoi Traits

Males of H. a. galindoi are darker green both above and below compared to H. a. floccus, and the underpart scaling of female H. a. galindoi is more muted.

Subspecies H. a. russata Traits

H. a. russata has a longer bill and brighter copper upperparts than the nominate, and its underparts have brown scaling rather than grayish white scaling.

Subspecies H. a. cutucuensis Traits

H. a. cutucuensis is similar to the nominate, but has much heavier grayish white scaling on the underparts.

Subspecies Range Overview

Different subspecies of the greenish puffleg occupy different ranges.

H. a. floccus Distribution

H. a. floccus is found in extreme eastern Panama and adjacent northwestern Colombia.

H. a. galindoi Distribution

H. a. galindoi is found on Cerro Pire in extreme eastern Panama.

H. a. caucensis Distribution

H. a. caucensis ranges from southeastern Panama into the Western and Central Andes of Colombia.

Nominate Subspecies Distribution

H. a. aureliae (the nominate subspecies) is found in Colombia's Eastern Andes, and possibly on the eastern slope of the Central Andes of Colombia.

H. a. russata Distribution

H. a. russata occurs on the eastern slope of the Ecuadorean Andes as far south as Pastaza Province.

H. a. cutucuensis Distribution

H. a. cutucuensis ranges from the eastern slope of the southern Ecuadorean Andes into Peru, to the border of Amazonas and San Martín departments.

Taxonomic Range Discrepancy

The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy include Peru in this species' range, but the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) does not.