Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

White-vented Plumeleteer (Chalybura buffonii) - HBW 5, p. 607

French: Colibri de Buffon German: Blauschwanz-Buffonkolibri Spanish: Colibrí de Buffon
Other common names: Buffon’s Hummingbird; Blue-bellied Plumeleteer (caeruleogaster)

Taxonomy: Trochilus Buffonii Lesson, 1832, Brazil; error = Bogotá region, Colombia.
Type specimen has sometimes been ascribed to populations from Panama and W Colombia, with consequent reshuffling of subspecific nomenclature; under that arrangement, birds currently listed as nominate become race interior, whereas those of current race micans become nominate. Another variation occasionally adopted, under present arrangement with type locality of Bogotá region, involves population around L Maracaibo basin being split as a separate race, for which name interior is likewise available; however, these differences are slight, and subspecific separation of Maracaibo birds unjustified. In past, race caeruleogaster often considered a separate species. Race intermedia of C. urochrysia, from SW Ecuador, sometimes ascribed to present species, but its largely pinkish mandible supports treatment in that species; nevertheless, it might be better considered a separate species; more study required. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

micans Bangs & Barbour, 1922 - C & E Panama and W Colombia (Pacific slope, Cauca Valley and head of Magdalena Valley).
buffonii (Lesson, 1832) - C Colombia (upper and middle Magdalena Valley) to S & W parts of L Maracaibo basin and adjacent slopes in extreme NE Colombia and NW Venezuela.
aeneicauda Lawrence, 1865 - N Colombia (lower Magdalena Valley and Santa Marta region) to W & NC Venezuela (along S slope of Andes and on coastal slope).
caeruleogaster (Gould, 1847) - N & C Colombia (E slope of E Andes).