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Résumé :
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Biogeography and taxonomy of the widespread Andean trochilid genus Lesbia LESSON, 1833 are analyzed based on distributional data and morphological characters of skin specimens. The Black-tailed Trainbearer, L. victoriae, and the Green-tailed Trainbearer, L. nuna, are currently recognized as two species, but morphological evidence (tail pattern, biometrics) reveals that another taxon, Gould's Trainbearer, L. gouldii, previously included in the latter, should be considered as a distinct species. The type specimens of "L. eucharis", until recently treated as a subspecies of L. nuna from Huanuco, central Peru, come from the northern Andes and are most likely hybrids of L. gouldii x L. victoriae. Further, the central Peruvian population of Gould's Trainbearer should be recognized as a new subspecies, L. gouldii huallagae subsp. nov., marked by the strongly bronze-green coloration and conspicuous pale fringes in the male ventral plumage. Another new taxon, L. gouldii aureliae subsp. nov., is described from southern Ecuador and mainly characterized by its remarkable golden bronze coloration. This study also confirms the taxonomic separation of L. nuna boliviana and L. gouldii (formerly nuna) gracilis, but the validity of L. victoriae aequatorialis is not supported by mensural data. Morphological similarities (female-type plumage, tail pattern, body size relations) indicate a close relationship of Lesbia with the thornbills Ramphomicron and the Red-tailed Comet Sappho sparganura.
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