Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis lineata)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The male Black-faced Dacnis has a black forehead and sides of the head that connect to the black rest of the upperparts and tail. It has a blue crown and golden eyes or iris. The throat and rest of the underparts are sky blue with a white center of the belly and vent areas. The female has olive upperparts. The throat and rest of the underparts are gray. The iris is a dull golden yellow in the female. It forages in the canopy of mature forest often in the company of mixed species flocks. The female is similar to the female White-belly Dacnis but is distinguished by olive upperparts and grayish underparts.

Status: The Black-faced Dacnis is uncommon and widespread in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 1400 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Dacnis de Cara Negra.

Sub-species: Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis lineata lineata), (J. F. Gmelin), 1789.
(Dacnis lineata aequatorialis). Western Ecuador south to Tumbes, Peru and extreme southwestern Colombia (Nariño).

Meaning of Name: Dacnis: Gr. Daknis= Type of bird from Egypt, otherwise unidentified, mentioned by Hesychius and Pompeius Festus. lineata: L. linon= flax, linen, lined. Lineatus= marked with lines.

See more of the Family Thraupidae