Short-billed Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes nitidus
Tiny, colorful bird of forest canopy. Males are bright bluish-purple with black wings, mask, and throat; females are mostly green with a blue whisker stripe, buffy throat, and white streaking on flanks. Both sexes have dark pink legs. Not common; found in canopy of lowland rainforest and forest edge, often with mixed species flocks. Probes flowers for nectar and also eats fruit. Calls are lisping and indistinct. Short bill distinguishes this species from Red-legged and Purple Honeycreepers, both of which are considerably more common; also note dark pink legs. Female is less streaked below than female Purple.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cyanerpes nitidus
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1847)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Invalid/Not Found
- Genus
- Cyanerpes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Lesser Roadrunner
Geococcyx velox
Slightly smaller version of the familiar cartoon Greater Roadrunner, but usually the two species do not occur in the same places. Favors dry brushy woodland and overgrown weedy fields in tropical lowlands and foothills. Can be very elusive, but at other times runs out in the road or sits quietly sunning itself on a fence post or bush top in the early morning. Note that the center of the throat and breast are plain rich buffy, without the dense dark streaking of Greater Roadrunner.
Cape White-eye
Zosterops virens
A small, active, mostly yellow-green warbler-like bird with an obvious white eye-ring. The two races have different breast and belly coloration: gray in the south and greenish in the north. Pairs are common in all habitats, where they form a strong component of mixed-species flocks. A sweet, rolling reedy warble that is disjointed and rambling is often the first sign that they are around. The Cape White-eye is similar to the Yellow White-eye, which has more lemon-colored underparts, and the Orange River White-eye, which has peach-colored flanks.
Bismarck Munia
Lonchura melaena
A handsome small finch that appears very dark with a bright white belly patch. Head and chest black, back rich hazelnut brown, tail golden-orange. Undertail very black. Flanks scaled black-and-white. Found in most patches of tall grass up to 1200 meters of elevation. Other munias occur in the same areas, but Bismarck’s bold color patterns make for simple identification. Most common call is a chorus of soft “peep” and “see” notes, but overall relatively quiet.
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