Black-legged Dacnis

A recently split species from Kalao island in Indonesia. Deep blue upperparts with slightly paler brow, black chin and sides to the face, orange belly, and white throat. Chest and base to the undertail are white in the male and washed orange in the female. Found in forest patches, edge and scrub where fairly inconspicuous but confiding. Unmistakable in range. Vocalizations are not well known.

Widespread in the Andes and locally at lower elevations. Favors open and semiopen habitats from rocky and scrubby slopes to bogs and lakeshores; often around villages and ski lodges, where it nests inside buildings. Often seen on prominent perches; can be confiding, but also flies long distances. Identified in most of range by size and extensively white tail. Told from similar but much rarer and slightly bulkier White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant by slender, all-dark bill (pale below on young Black-billed), and pale eyes (darker on young).

A slender, medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest. Entirely black with glossiness in the wing and in the slightly flared tail. Forages for insects in the forest canopy. Resembles Balicassiao and Hair-crested Drongos, but smaller, with a thinner bill and no fork in the tail. Song is a steadily rising series of whistled notes.