Hummingbirds

The black-thighed puffleg (Eriocnemis derbyi) is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is found at humid forest edge and ravines in the Andean highlands of Colombia and northern Ecuador. It is threatened by habitat loss. As suggested by its name, the feathering around its legs is black, which is unique among the pufflegs. Otherwise its plumage is green with a contrastingly black tail.

The Barred Fruiteater is a large species of the fruiteater group of cotingas that resides in the northern Andes. The species ranges from western Venezuela south to western Bolivia, where it lives in temperate zone forest from 2000-3300 meters in elevation, higher than most other fruiteaters, . The Barred Fruiteater is olive above with a red bill, pale yellow markings on the greater coverts and tertials, a black terminal tail band, and yellow- and black-barred underparts. Males have a black hood while females are olive-headed; iris color varies from yellow to red to white in different parts of the range. Barred Fruiteater’s song is a high rapid series of hissing notes which is shorter in the southern part of its range.

It is a fairly polytypic species with a relatively complex taxonomy. . Its name Synallaxis comes from the Greek sunallaxis = change, which was assigned by Vieillot (1818) referring to characters that merited recognition as a different gender. The epithet azarae was established in honor of the Spanish military engineer and naturalist Felix Manuel de Azara.

The green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. It is the only member of the genus Chlorophanes. The purplish honeycreeper (Chlorophanes purpurascens), a bird from Venezuela known only from the type specimen, is now thought to be an intergeneric hybrid between the green honeycreeper and either the red-legged honeycreeper or the blue dacnis.

The white-capped tanager (Sericossypha albocristata) is the heaviest but not the longest species of tanager, at a weight of 114 g (4 oz) and a length of 24 cm (9.5 in). This species is glossy black overall with a large white crown and a red throat (which is brightest in adult males). It occurs in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru at elevations of 1600–3200 m. It lives in humid forest in groups of up to 20 individuals. Flocks of these tanagers stay in tight formation, often foraging from tree to tree together. They may eat fruits, seeds, hymenoptera, and coleoptera.

It is one of the largest species in the genus. Its name Grallaria derives from the modern Latin grallarius = stilt man. The epithet squamigera derives from the Latin roots squama = scale and gerere = carry on.

This species is a very noisy and gregarious bird typical of the Andes that is strongly associated with oak forests (Quercus). Its name Melenerpes means black woodpecker and derives from the Greek roots melas = black and herpes = climber. The epithet formicivorus means that it eats ants and derives from the Latin roots formica = ant and vorus = that eats or devours.

It is a small hummingbird. Short beak. Its colors range from black for the most part, with a distinctive red color on the crown. It also has iridescent orange and dark olive brown tones. They are mostly loners. It is found in the Western Cordillera and other places with arid lands.