Purple-bibbed Whitetip (Urosticte benjamini) [XC110232]
by Martin St-Michel from Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha, Ecuador (call)
Purple-bibbed Whitetip (Urosticte benjamini) [XC833589]
by rudy gelis from Mindo, Cant\u00f3n San Miguel de Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador (call)
Subspecies
On the basis of behaviour, genus belongs to a clade including Eriocnemis, Haplophaedia and Ocreatus. Genus sometimes merged into Adelomyia. Sometimes considered conspecific with Rufous-vented Whitetip (Urosticte ruficrissa), based on intermediate characters of birds from north-eastern Peru. This population has often been awarded subspecies intermedia, but differences probably constitute a cline within present species. Peruvian population sometimes transferred to Rufous-vented Whitetip (Urosticte ruficrissa). Further study is required.
Proposed subspecies "rostrata" (western Colombia) is probably based on an aberrant individual.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet