White-vented Plumeleteer (Chalybura buffonii) [XC343074]
by Yair Guillermo Molina Mart\u00ednez. from El Blanquito, Parque Nacional Yacamb\u00fa, Lara, Venezuela (song)
White-vented Plumeleteer (Chalybura buffonii) [XC95736]
by Daniel Lane from Campo Verde, Tumbes, Peru (call)
Subspecies
Type specimen has sometimes been ascribed to populations from Panama and western Colombia, with consequent reshuffling of subspecific nomenclature; under that arrangement, birds currently listed as nominate become subspecies interior, whereas those of current subspecies micans become nominate. Another variation occasionally adopted, under present arrangement with type locality of Bogota region, involves population around L Maracaibo basin being split as a separate subspecies, for which name interior is likewise available. However, these differences are slight, and subspecific separation of Maracaibo birds unjustified. In past, subspecies caeruleogaster often considered a separate species. Subspecies intermedia of Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer (Chalybura urochrysia), from south-western 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 is required.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
micans Bangs & Barbour, 1922 - Central and eastern Panama and western Colombia (Pacific slope, Cauca Valley and head of Magdalena Valley).
buffonii (Lesson, 1832) - Central Colombia (upper and middle Magdalena Valley) to southern and western parts of L Maracaibo basin and adjacent slopes in extreme north-eastern Colombia and north-western Venezuela.
aeneicauda Lawrence, 1865 - Northern Colombia (lower Magdalena Valley and Santa Marta region) to western and north-central Venezuela (along southern slope of Andes and on coastal slope).
caeruleogaster (Gould, 1847) - Northern and central Colombia (eastern slope of eastern Andes).
intermedia Hartert & Hartert, C, 1894 - Subtropical zone of south-western Ecuador. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer (Chalybura urochrysia).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet