From Opus

Conirostrum albifrons

Male
Photo by Michael W
Nono-Mindo Rd, Tandayapa Valley, Ecuador, March 2007

Identification

Sexually dimorphic: Male is largely black, with subtle blue crown. Female has light brown head, gray chest and belly, and olive back.

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia on both slopes of Andes, but more common in East.

Female
Photo by: Gary Clark
Nono-Mindo Rd, Tandayapa Valley, Ecuador

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Six subspecies are recognized:

• C. a. albifrons:

• Central and eastern Andes of Colombia and western Venezuela (Táchira)

• C. a. centralandium:

• Central Andes of Colombia (Antioquia to Cauca)

• C. a. cyanonotum:

• Coastal mountains of northern Venezuela (Aragua and Distrito Federal)

• C. a. atrocyaneum:

• Andes of south-western Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru

• C. a. sordidum:

• Andes of southern Peru (Junín) to western Bolivia (La Paz)

• C. a. lugens:

• Yungas of eastern Bolivia (Cochabamba and Santa Cruz)

Habitat

Upper subtropical and temperate forest.

Behaviour

Stays high in the trees, wags tail incessantly.

Moves around in family groups often with large mixed-species flocks.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019
2. Avibase

• List of references

External Links