Buff-throated Sunbird
Chalcomitra adelberti
The male is a beautiful and unmistakable sunbird with a pale yellow throat, an iridescent green cap and chin, a black breast band, and a chestnut belly. The color of the upperparts varies geographically, being chestnut-brown in the west and blackish-brown in the east. Females have a faint pale eyebrow and heavy streaking below. Found in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, plantations, and gardens. Female similar to female Johanna’s Sunbird, but has a shorter bill. One characteristic call is a loud “chee-uu.” The song consists of series of squeaky whistles in a simple pattern.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chalcomitra adelberti
- Authority
- (Gervais, 1834)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Chalcomitra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Emerald Tanager
Tangara florida
Well-named tanager, mostly emerald-green with trapezoidal black cheek patch, back streaking and wing markings. Small and active, usually found in pairs following mixed feeding flocks in foothill forests and edges. Feeds on fruit. Sexes alike.
Thorn-tailed Rayadito
Aphrastura spinicauda
Common and often noisy and conspicuous little bird of temperate southern forests, also ranging locally into matorral with taller trees. Found in pairs or small groups, at times flocks of tens in the nonbreeding season. Moves actively through foliage from canopy to low in thickets, even on the ground in leaf litter. Thorn-tailed Rayaditos are the core species in mixed-species winter feeding flocks. Plumage distinctive, with thick golden eyebrow, whitish bib (bib buffy on Chiloé Island), striped wings, and “thorny-tipped” tail.
Purple Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes caeruleus
Very small tanager, widespread and common in lowlands and foothills of northern South America. Male is indigo-blue with narrow black mask, black throat, and black wings. Note long decurved bill and yellow legs to separate from other honeycreepers in most of range. Female much different: she is mostly green with pale streaking on underparts, a grizzled buffy-brown face, and a blue mustache stripe. Extremely similar to Shining Honeycreeper, but very little range overlap. Male Shining has larger black throat patch and slightly shorter bill; female has duller, grayer crown and less buffy face. Usually in small groups, often accompanying a mixed-species flock in the canopy. Found in forests, edges, and gardens.
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