- Dacnis venusta
Identification
12cm. Bright turquoise blue crown and nape, sides of head and neck, centre of back, rump and scapulars. Black forehead, lores, sides of back, wings and tail, and mid-throat and entire remaining underparts; scarlet thighs which are usually hidden. Female dull greenish blue above, brightest on cheeks, scapulars, and rump, duskier on back, wings, and tail; below dingy buffy grey, buffiest on belly and undertail coverts. Male iris bright red, duller in female. 12cm.
Similar species
Black underside separates the male from all other Dacnis species; compare with Blue-necked Tanager.
Distribution
Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and north-west Ecuador. In Central America connected with both Pacific and Atlantic slopes, in south America mainly on the west side of the Andes.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- D. v. venusta
- D. v. fuliginata
Habitat
In most areas in foothill elevation, up to 1500 m asl in Costa Rica and to 1100 m in South America (usually below 700), but in some areas occur in true lowland especially outside breeding season. Usually in borders and clearings of humid forest.
Behaviour
Moves around rapidly while eating fruit, berries and invertebrates.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
- Ridgely & Gwynne 1989. Birds of Panama. Princeton Paperbacks. ISBN 0691025126
- Garrigues and Dean 2007. The birds of Costa Rica - a field guide. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9
- Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Scarlet-thighed Dacnis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Scarlet-thighed_Dacnis
