The Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird Lepidopyga lilliae is an endemic taxon of the north coast of Colombia and is a critical endangered species, but its taxonomic status is still uncertain because there is not valid proof of it.

It has been suggested that the L. lilliae belongs to a phenotypic variation of L coeruleogularis but both of the taxa had been registered in a same area. Nevertheless one recent description of a possible female of L. lilliae suggest the validity of the taxon, but again there is the possibility that the female corresponds just to a phenotypic variation of L. coeruleogularis or a hybrid between the last one and L. goudoti. A hybrid female could be phenotypically different and so it could be misidentified as a valid species. The hypothesis of this project establisht that the L. lilliae is a hybrid between L. coeruleogularis and L. goudoti.

The actual molecular tools like the analysis of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences could resolve this problem. In this project will be sequenced the genes cytochrome-b, ND2 and the control region of the mitochondiral DNA, and it will be sequenced numts - copies of mitonchondrial DNA in the nucleus - of L. lilliae, L. coeruleogularis and L. goudoti. The sequences obtained will be compared and analyzed to determine the taxonomic status of the Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird L. lilliae.

In this way will be defined if L. lilliae is a valid taxon. If it comes positive, caption of funds to study its natural history and the area of occupancy will be easier and of immediately priority. If the taxon is not valid, this work will clarify one doubt of more than a half of century.

From 13 March to 12 April we will travel to field to explore the places where the taxon has been reported and other potencial area of occupancy .

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