ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Endangered

YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2010

CRITICAL HABITAT: None

RECOVERY PLAN: None

RANGE: The northwestern slopes of Ecuador's Pichincha volcano, an area less than 34 square kilometers

THREATS: Habitat loss due to deforestation from cattle grazing, conversion of forest to potato farms, the felling of Polylepis trees for charcoal production, and a recently constructed oil pipeline and road within puffleg range; also global warming

POPULATION TREND: The black-breasted puffleg is rapidly declining. In fact, its population is estimated to have declined by 50 to 79 percent in the past 10 years and now consists of fewer than 250 individuals.

Photo © Benji Schwartz