Shining Honeycreeper
Encyclopedia
The Shining Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) is a small bird
in the tanager
family. It is found in the tropical New World
in Central America
from southern Mexico
to Panama
and northwest Colombia
. It is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Purple Honeycreeper
(C. caeruleus), but the two species breed sympatrically in eastern Panama and northwest Colombia.
This is a forest canopy species, but also occurs in forest edges and secondary growth. The female builds a shallow cup nest
in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two eggs
.
The Shining Honeycreeper is 10 cm long, weighs 11 g and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple-blue with black wings, tail and throat, and bright yellow legs. The female has green upperparts, a greenish-blue head, buff throat and buff-streaked bluish underparts. The immature is similar to the female, but is greener on the head and breast.
The call
of this honeycreeper
is a thin high-pitched seee, and the male’s song is a pit pit pit pit pit-pit repeated for minutes at a time.
This species is very similar to the Purple Honeycreeper, but the male of the latter species is overall slightly darker and its black throat patch is smaller. Unlike the female Shining Honeycreeper, the female Purple Honeycreeper has buff (not dusky) lores and, except for its malar, no clear blue tinge to the head.
The Shining Honeycreeper is easily distinguished from the larger Red-legged Honeycreeper
with which its shares its range by the latter species’ red legs and, in the male, black mantle.
The Shining Honeycreeper is usually found in pairs or family groups. It feeds on nectar, berries and insect
s, mainly in the canopy. It responds readily to the call of the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the tanager
Tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...
family. It is found in the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
from southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and northwest Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Purple Honeycreeper
Purple Honeycreeper
The Purple Honeycreeper, Cyanerpes caeruleus, is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. A few, possibly introduced birds have been recorded on Tobago...
(C. caeruleus), but the two species breed sympatrically in eastern Panama and northwest Colombia.
This is a forest canopy species, but also occurs in forest edges and secondary growth. The female builds a shallow cup nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two eggs
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
.
The Shining Honeycreeper is 10 cm long, weighs 11 g and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple-blue with black wings, tail and throat, and bright yellow legs. The female has green upperparts, a greenish-blue head, buff throat and buff-streaked bluish underparts. The immature is similar to the female, but is greener on the head and breast.
The call
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
of this honeycreeper
Honeycreeper
The typical honeycreepers are small birds in the tanager family. They are found in the tropical New World from Mexico south to Brazil.They occur in the forest canopy, and, as the name implies, they are specialist nectar feeders with long curved bills....
is a thin high-pitched seee, and the male’s song is a pit pit pit pit pit-pit repeated for minutes at a time.
This species is very similar to the Purple Honeycreeper, but the male of the latter species is overall slightly darker and its black throat patch is smaller. Unlike the female Shining Honeycreeper, the female Purple Honeycreeper has buff (not dusky) lores and, except for its malar, no clear blue tinge to the head.
The Shining Honeycreeper is easily distinguished from the larger Red-legged Honeycreeper
Red-legged Honeycreeper
The Red-legged Honeycreeper is a small songbird species in the tanager family . It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on Cuba, where possibly introduced.-Description:The Red-legged Honeycreeper is on average...
with which its shares its range by the latter species’ red legs and, in the male, black mantle.
The Shining Honeycreeper is usually found in pairs or family groups. It feeds on nectar, berries and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, mainly in the canopy. It responds readily to the call of the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is a small owl that breeds in south-central Arizona in the USA, south through to Mexico, Central America and South America to Bolivia and Argentina. Trinidad, as well as other localities, have endemic subspecies of this owl...
.