Boissonneaua

Boissonneaua
Buff-tailed coronet, Boissonneaua flavescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Tribe:	Heliantheini
Genus:	Boissonneaua Reichenbach, 1854
Type species
Trochilus flavescens Loddiges, 1832
Species
3, see text

Boissonneaua is a small genus of hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae. They are found in humid Andean forests from western Venezuela to southern Peru. They have a straight black bill, contrasting outer rectrices, and a distinctive habit of quickly lifting both wings up shortly after landing, thereby revealing their rufous underwing coverts.

Species

The genus contains three species:

Genus Boissonneaua – Reichenbach, 1854 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Chestnut-breasted coronet	Boissonneaua matthewsii (Bourcier, 1847)	Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.	Size: 10.5 to 13 cm (4.1 to 5.1 in) long and weighs about 6.5 to 8.3 g (0.23 to 0.29 oz) Habitat: Diet:	LC
Buff-tailed coronet	Boissonneaua flavescens (Loddiges, 1832) Two subspecies B. f. flavescens B. f. tinochlora	Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.	Size: 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 7.3 to 8.8 g (0.26 to 0.31 oz) Habitat: Diet:	LC
Velvet-purple coronet	Boissonneaua jardini (Bourcier, 1851)	western Colombia and north-western Ecuador.	Size: 11 to 12.7 cm (4.3 to 5.0 in) long and weighs 8.0 to 8.5 g (0.28 to 0.30 oz) Habitat: Diet:	LC

Further reading

• Restall, R., Rodner, C., & Lentino, M. (2006). Birds of Northern South America. Vol. 1 & 2. Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 1); ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 2).