Rediscovery of the Dusky Starfrontlet Coeligena orina, with a description of the adult plumages and a reassessment of its taxonomic status

Abstract

After being known only from the type specimen, an immature male, for over 50 years, the Dusky Starfrontlet Coeligena orina was rediscovered in 2004 at the type locality and another site 70 km to the south in the Western Andes of Colombia. Four specimens were collected, permitting the first descriptions of the adult male and female plumages. From these specimens we conclude that C. orina is a distinct species, probably most closely related to C. bonapartei and C. lutetiae, rather than a subspecies of the former (as it has been considered in much recent literature). It differs more in plumage colors and measurements from C. bonapartei, than do the races of the latter among themselves; the differences are comparable in magnitude to those between bonapartei and the sympatric C. helianthea. C. orina appears to be restricted to elfin forest and the páramo-forest ecotone between ca. 3100 and 3500 m in the northern part of the Western Andes. The type locality of Páramo Frontino is currently threatened, and effective protection measures are urgently needed. We recommend that based upon estimates of its current population size and limited available habitat, C. orina be classified as Critically Endangered.