A new blue-and-green- throated hummingbird species has been discovered in a cloud forest in Colombia, and already needs protection from human encroachment, the experts who found the bird said on Sunday.

Called the gorgeted puffleg, the new species is easily twice as big as the thumb-sized hummingbirds found in the eastern United States, measuring between 3.5 inches and 4 inches (90 and 100 mm) in length, its discoverers said in answer to e-mailed questions.

The name comes from the iridescent emerald green and electric blue patch on the throat — the gorge — on males, and from tufts of white feathers at the top of the legs, a characteristic of so-called puffleg hummers.

Link & Image: Reuters