White-eared Conebill
Conirostrum leucogenys
This unmistakable warblerlike bird is fairly common in forests and edges from Panama to Colombia and Venezuela. Males are pale pearly-gray below and richer blue-gray above with a dark cap, a white cheek, and chestnut undertail coverts. Females are grayish above and pale grayish-buff below. Note the sharply pointed bill. Almost always found in pairs, usually in the canopy of forests and edges in lowlands, up to around 800 m. Sometimes joins mixed-species flocks.
Identification
The White-eared conebill is small (7g) bird. Subspecies are similar in appearance across their range. Adult males have a blue back, wings, and tail, and a light blue sometimes greyish underpart with a rufous undertail covert. They have a black crown, face, and lores, and a white cheek. Immature males are similar but have a less bold black colouring on the face and crown. Females are more subtly coloured, with a lighter blue back, crown, nape, and tail, with the primaries being olive coloured and the breast, belly, flanks and face being yellow. Both sexes have greyish-black legs, silver bills, and brown eyes.
Taxonomy
The White-eared conebill was described by French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1852. It was originally described by de Lafresnaye as a dacnis, and placed in the genus Dacnis, before later being moved into the defunct genus Ateleodacnis, and then later into its current genus Conirostrum with the rest of the conebill species'. There are currently three recognized subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Conirostrum leucogenys
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1852)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Conirostrum
Range and habitat
The White-eared conebill is found in South and Central America, in the countries of Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like other conebills, the White-eared conebill mainly eats insects, foraging usually in the canopies of trees. It has also been known to join mixed species flocks but not to the same frequency as other relatives like the Blue-backed conebill and the white-browed conebill.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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