Peruvian Piedtail (Phlogophilus harterti)

Identification & Behavior: ~8.8 cm (3.4 in). The Peruvian Piedtail is green above with dusky sides of the head. It has a white throat and pectoral band. The rest of the underparts are buff in color. The tail is dusky and white. The bill is black and straight. It is similar to the closely related Ecuadorian Piedtail but the range of these two piedtails are not known to overlap.

Status: Endemic. The Peruvian Piedtail is common but local in the understory and shrubbery of montane forests on the east slope of the Andes at elevations between 750-1500 m.

Name in Spanish: Cola-pintada Peruano.

Sub-species: Peruvian Piedtail (Phlogophilus harterti), Berlepsch and Stolzmann, 1901.

Meaning of Name: Phlogophilus: Gr. Phlogo= flash of lightning, gleam and philos=  lover. harterti: In honor of Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (1859-1933) German ornithologist, collector, and Curator of Rothschild Museum.

See more of the Family Trochilidae