From Opus

Male. Photo by Wim de Groot
Panama, February 2010

Chiroxiphia lanceolata

[edit] Identification

13.5 cm long and 17.5 g. 2 central tail feathers elongated to form a spike.
Male - black, with a red crown patch, bright sky-blue back, and bright orange legs.
Female - olive-green upperparts, paler olive underparts; legs orange-red.
Young males are olive, but show a red cap and the start of a blue back as they mature.

[edit] Distribution

Costa Rica, Panama, northern Colombia and western half of northern Venezuela.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

Dry and moist deciduous forests, mostly in lowlands.

[edit] Behaviour

The female builds a cup nest in a tree; 2 brown-mottled cream eggs are laid, and incubated entirely by the female for about 20 days.

Diet includes fruit and some insects.

[edit] External Links