Bad-smelling Alkanet vs Glowing Puffleg

Alkanna maleolens compared with Eriocnemis vestita

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while Glowing Puffleg is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Glowing Puffleg
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Boraginaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Alkanna	Eriocnemis
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Eriocnemis vestita

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

Glowing Puffleg

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Glowing Puffleg
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Glowing Puffleg

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Glowing Puffleg

A brilliantly colored puffleg hummingbird of the northern Andes from Colombia to southern Ecuador, glowing pufflegs display vivid iridescent green plumage that glows with an almost luminescent quality in bright light — inspiring the species' descriptive common name. Found in humid montane forest at elevations of 1,800–3,500 meters. Males have characteristic white leg puffs and a shimmering violet-blue tail. They are important pollinators of high-Andean flowering plants. Listed as Least Concern.