The Dusky Starfrontlet (Coeligena orina) is a hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the subfamily Trochilinae

Trochilinae

Trochilinae is a subfamily of the hummingbird family . Members of the subfamily Trochilinae are sometimes called typical hummingbirds. They typically display iridescent plumage in metallic reds, oranges, greens and/or blues...

.
It is found only at high altitudes in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, and was first discovered on Páramo de Frontino. Its status was mysterious for a long time as it was only known from a few museum specimens; it was often held to be a mutant or color morph

Polymorphism (biology)

Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...

 of some other species of Coeligena

Coeligena

Coeligena is a genus of South American hummingbirds.It contains the following species:* Bronzy Inca * Brown Inca * Black Inca * Collared Inca...

. When it was rediscovered in 2004, in what is now the Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve

Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve

Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve is a 2,852 ha nature reserve in Colombia. It lies at the base of the Páramo del Sol volcanic massif west of the city of Medellín in the Department of Antioquia...

, its status as a distinct species was confirmed.

Although this bird was listed as a species of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List

IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...

 for many years, it became evident that it was close to extinction, and its status was upgraded to Critically Endangered in the 2007 Red List issue.