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.
Identification
The purple honeycreeper is 4.5 in (11.5 cm) long, weighs 0.42 oz (12 g) and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple with black wings, tail and belly, and bright yellow legs. Females and immatures have green upperparts, and green-streaked yellowish-buff underparts. The throat is cinnamon, and there is a blue moustachial stripe. The call of purple honeycreeper is a thin high-pitched zree. The Trinidadian subspecies C. c. longirostris has a longer bill than the mainland forms.
Taxonomy
The purple honeycreeper was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Certhia carrulea. Linnaeus based his description on "The Blue Creeper" that had been described and illustrated in 1743 by the English naturalist George Edwards from specimens collected in Suriname. The specimens had been mounted in glass cases and were owned by the Duke of Richmond. The purple honeycreeper is now placed in the genus Cyanerpes that was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser. The specific epithet caeruleus is Latin for "dark blue".<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Cyanerpes caeruleus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Cyanerpes
Range and habitat
The species is a bird of northern South America, and besides the Amazon Basin and the Guianas, a coastal range occurs west of the Andes, including parts of southern Panama. In the south, its range extends to the extreme western Pantanal. Though it is most frequently seen in the lowlands up to 3,300 ft (1,000 m) ASL or so, it has been encountered as high as 7,500 ft (2,300 m) ASL.<p>This is a forest canopy species, but also occurs in cocoa and citrus plantations. At the upper limit of its altitudinal range, it frequents premontane rainforest, usually rather low-growing (33–50 ft/10–15 m) and full of epiphytes and mosses, and even elfin forest and páramo.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The purple honeycreeper is often found in small groups. It feeds on nectar (particularly from bromeliad and similar flowers, to which its bill shape is adapted), berries and seeds (i.e., Trema and Clusia), fruit (i.e., bananas and papayas) and insects, mainly in the canopy. It is a bold and inquisitive bird, responding readily to the call of the ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) by coming out of cover and searching for the presumed predator to mob it. The female purple honeycreeper builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two brown-blotched white eggs.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Dinky, short-tailed green parrot. Males have a gray head, while females are plain green. Found most commonly in dry forest at low elevation in the north and west of Madagascar. Occurs much less commonly in the east and center, and at higher elevations. Uses open forest, scrub, plantations, and other fairly open habitats. Call is a zesty “vhit,” often given in flight.
Livingstone's Flycatcher
Erythrocercus livingstonei
Unusual little flycatcher with olive upperparts, yellow underparts, and a black-banded rufous tail. Found very locally in riverine and coastal forest and thickets. Restless bird that is constantly in motion, and is fond of spreading and flicking its tail. The vocalizations are a rapid series of “chit” calls and a short, melodious, warbling song.
Ochre-breasted Antpitta
Grallaricula flavirostris
Small and fairly bright antpitta found in foothills and subtropics from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Typical antpitta shape: plump and short-tailed. Dull brown above. Messy-looking buffy face and eyering. Some geographic variation: breast color varies from buffy to whitish, and some populations show bold dark scaling on breast, while others are nearly unmarked. Sexes similar. Shy and difficult to see; stays on or near the ground in forest, often perching on small limbs a couple meters high (more so than the larger antpittas). Swings its body side to side. Song can be difficult to detect: a simple, extremely high pitched, descending whistle. Occurs from around 500–2,500 m, usually lower than other small antpittas.
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