White-throated Flowerpecker
Pachyglossa vincens
A small, stub-tailed, thick-billed songbird, with dark upperparts, white throat, and yellow on the underside. Males are dark, blackish-blue above, while the duller females are gray on the upperside. Usually in pairs, within the treetops of wet forest and adjoining areas. The only similar species would be female sunbirds, which can be eliminated on bill shape; White-throated Flowerpecker possesses a stubby bill. Song is a series of ascending high notes, and call is a single very high-pitched “whit” note.
Identification
This is a very small passerine but a relatively stout flowerpecker, measuring 10 cm (3.9 in) in total length and weighing approximately 9 g (0.32 oz), with a short tail, short thick curved bill and tubular tongue. The latter features reflect the importance of nectar in its diet, although berries, spiders and insects are also taken.<p>The male Legge's flowerpecker has blue-black upperparts, a white throat and upper breast, and yellow lower breast and belly. The female is duller, with olive-brown upperparts.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pachyglossa vincens
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1872)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paramythiidae
- Genus
- Pachyglossa
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Esmeraldas Antbird
Sipia nigricauda
Shy antbird usually found in wet gullies, often near streams. Ranges in lowland and foothill rainforest in western Ecuador and western Colombia. Male is mostly dark, slaty gray; female also has brown back, wings, and lower underparts. Both sexes have red eyes and pale spots on wings that usually form parallel lines. Typically encountered alone or in pairs, and stays quite close to the ground. Song is a series of ringing chirps, each at slightly different pitch, and the last note is notably higher.
Slaty-backed Gull
Larus schistisagus
Thickset, short-winged, pot-bellied gull. Adult has dark gray back and wings, intense pink legs, and an especially large white “crescent” (white tertial edges) near the wingtips when perched. Breeding adult white-headed; nonbreeding birds have variably heavy brown streaking on the head and upper breast. Takes four years for immatures to progress from mostly brown to fully white and gray adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Often looks rather frosty by the first winter; starts to develop a gray back and whitish eye in its second year. Primarily an Asian species, found in coastal regions from Japan and South Korea to Russia. Regularly occurs in western Alaska, but very rare elsewhere in North America.
Purple-throated Euphonia
Euphonia chlorotica
Tiny bird with a strong bill and short tail. Males are glossy blue-black on the head, back, and throat with a bright yellow forehead and belly, and a white undertail. Females are olive-green above with either a yellowish or white belly flanked by yellow depending on region. Found commonly in a variety of habitats from humid forests to mangroves and from agricultural areas to gardens. Often accompanies mixed-species flocks. The most frequently heard vocalization is the “teee-deee” call.
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