Rusty Flowerpiercer (Diglossa sittoides)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The male Rusty Flowerpiercer is bluish gray above and rusty below. The female is olive brown, faintly streaked below. The juvenile is similar to a female. It forages in humid and semi-dry habitats, in dense and semi-open habitats. The female is similar to a female White-sided Flowerpiercer but is distinguished by having faintly streaked underparts and by foraging in more open and often drier habitats. Also, see Fawn-breasted Tanager.

Status: The Rusty Flowerpiercer is uncommon on the east and west (Piura to Lima) slopes of the Andes at elevations ranging between 1200-3500 m. It is also rare and local in coastal lowlands. The Rusty Flowerpiercer also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Pincha-Flor de Pecho Canela.

Sub-species: Rusty Flower-piercer (Diglossa sittoides decorata), J. T. Zimmer, 1930.

Meaning of Name: Diglossa: Gr. di, dis= double, twice and glossa= tongue. sittoides: Sitta= Genus Sitta, Linnaeus, 1758 and oides= resembling.

See more of the Family Thraupidae