Bluish Flowerpiercer

Diglossa caerulescens

Dull blue-gray flowerpiercer found in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Dark reddish eye. Could be confused with Masked Flowerpiercer but duller overall without large black mask. Bill is less upswept than most flowerpiercers. Found singly or in pairs, often following a mixed-species flock through the forest canopy. Occurs from around 1,600-2,700m.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Diglossa caerulescens
Authority
(Sclater, PL, 1856)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Thraupidae
Genus
Diglossa

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Blackcap Babbler

Blackcap Babbler

Turdoides reinwardtii

A mostly brownish babbler with a black head and a white eye. The underparts are pale in the west and become increasingly darker in the eastern part of the range. Found in moist woodland, dense savanna, scrub, gallery forest, forest edge, cultivated areas, and gardens. Almost always in groups, which feed by hopping across the ground. Similar in behavior, shape, size, and overall brown coloration to Brown Babbler, but easily separated by the black head and the lack of a contrastingly paler rump. Calls include a raspy babbling, nasal calls, and a dry clucking, all usually given by a whole group in chorus. 

African Palm Swift

African Palm Swift

Cypsiurus parvus

A very slender gray-brown swift with a long, deeply forked tail that is often held closed, making it look needle-like and pointed. The erratic flight pattern, with frequent direction changes and rapid wingbeats on long, scythe-shaped wings, is distinctive. Less gregarious than other swifts; usually found in pairs or small flocks, and association with other swallows and swifts is usually only fleeting. Forages over a wide variety of habitats with palms, including savanna, coastal scrub, towns, villages, cultivated areas, forest edge, and clearings, from sea level up to 1800 meters of elevation, preferring lowlands. Nests and roosts in palms and uses its tiny legs with hook-like claws to cling to the undersides of fronds. Gives a high-pitched, metallic “tre-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit” call, solitarily or in unison with others. Separated from other swifts by its longer and thinner tail.

Collared Sparrowhawk

Collared Sparrowhawk

Tachyspiza cirrocephala

Small, delicately-built gray raptor with orange barring on chest and belly. When soaring, tail-tip is notched when not fanned out. When perched, look for a tiny bill, blank-staring expression (no heavy brow), and very skinny legs. Much less likely to circle high in sky than Brown Goshawk, and tends to stick to cover.

Start Your Bird Watching Journey

Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.