Blue-naped Chlorophonia
Chlorophonia cyanea
Small, plump bird with stout bill. Male mostly lime green with contrasting yellow belly and thin blue collar on nape and blue rump; some populations entirely blue above. Female similar but duller, with greener belly. Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, often in association with a fruiting tree. Forages at all levels, most frequently in the canopy. Listen for its plaintive whistles, usually one or two notes.
Identification
A small, plump, mainly green bird. The underparts are yellow, and the mantle/lower nape, rump and eye-ring are blue. Some subspecies have a yellow frontlet. Females are duller than the males, with underparts more greenish-yellow and less blue to the mantle/lower nape.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chlorophonia cyanea
- Authority
- (Thunberg, 1822)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Chlorophonia
Range and habitat
Its distribution is highly disjunct, with population associated with the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina, the Andes from Bolivia in south to Venezuela in north, the Perijá and Santa Marta Mountains, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. All populations are associated with humid forest, but locally it also occurs in nearby gardens and parks (especially in the Atlantic Forest region). Most populations are found in subtropical highlands, but it occurs down to near sea level in the Atlantic Forest region.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-striped Warbler
Myiothlypis leucophrys
Hyperactive warbler that nervously and continually flicks its tail in the understory of forests near water. Note the broad white eyebrow fringed with gray and the narrow dark mask. It has a gray shawl, a white face, and is mostly olive-green above and gray below. The song is a loud melodic series of tinkling notes.
Brown Illadopsis
Illadopsis fulvescens
A chunky, medium-sized, remarkably drab babbler. Has a white throat in some parts of the range and uniformly brown underparts elsewhere. Found in the understory and at middle levels of rainforest at low and middle elevations, usually in small groups. Shy and skulking; rarely seen unless searched for. Very similar to Pale-breasted Illadopsis; note slight vocal differences, with a more pure whistled song. Brown Illadopsis is also slightly darker below, less richly colored above, and not as cleanly white-throated. Most often detected by voice. The highly variable song consists of single-note pure whistles separated by short pauses; sometimes the same note is repeated and sometimes consecutive notes differ, but listen for a haunting clear monotone whistle. Also gives scolding calls, sometimes accompanying the whistled song.
Galapagos Petrel
Pterodroma phaeopygia
Endangered seabird that nests only in Galápagos. Outside the breeding season, it disperses over the eastern Pacific and usually stays far from land. Note distinctive black-and-white pattern on underwing, mostly white underparts, and dark upperparts that extend down through its face to sides of neck; no other seabird found in and near Galápagos shares these features. When seen from above, it appears all dark except for some white around the base of the bill. Almost always encountered at sea, since it travels to and from its highland nesting sites only at night.
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