- Diglossa albilatera
Identification
12 cm (4¾ in)
- Thin, short, slightly upturned bill
- Hook on upper mandible
Male
- Black overall plumage
- White flanks
Similar species
Male White-sided Flowerpiercer can be confused with male Glossy Flowerpiercer which is less slaty but has a greyish-blue shoulder-patch. In parts of Colombia, where the Black Flowerpiercer has a greyish-blue shoulder-patch (as in Glossy), this is another species to keep in mind.
Female Rusty Flowerpiercer has pale-fringed tertials. It may also be paler with slight yellowish wing bars and have a pale lower mandible base. It lacks the (concealed) white flanks.
Distribution
South America: found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- D. a. federalis:
- Coastal cordillera of northern Venezuela (Aragua to Miranda)
- D. a. albilatera:
- D. a. schistacea:
- Andes of extreme south-western Ecuador to north-western Peru (Cajamarca)
- D. a. affinis:
- Highlands of north-central Peru (above Río Utcubamba) to Cuzco
Habitat
Humid overgrown forests and clearings, particularly areas with flowering vines.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists almost entirely of nectar and probably some insects too.
They forage singly or in loose pairs; sometimes a family group of three. They sometimes join mixed species flocks.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-sided Flowerpiercer. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-sided_Flowerpiercer
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
