White-sided Flowerpiercer (Diglossa albilatera)

Identification & Behavior: ~12 cm (4.7 in). The male White-sided Flowerpiercer is all black with white tufts on the sides. The female is a uniformly rich brown with white tufts on the sides. The juvenile is similar to the female but does not show much or any white on the sides.  Adult birds flick the wings showing flashes of white on the sides. It forages along forest edges, scrub, and shrubbery. It is similar to Black Flowerpiercer and Glossy Flowerpiercer but is distinguished by its small size and by white tufts on the sides. The female is similar to a female Rusty Flowerpiercer but is distinguished by a uniform rich brown coloration.

Status: The White-sided Flowerpiercer is common but local in montane forests of the east and west (Piura and Cajamarca) slopes of the Andes at elevations ranging between 1650-3300 m. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Pincha-Flor de Flanco Blanco.

Sub-species: White-sided Flower-piercer (Diglossa albilatera schistacea), Chapman, 1925.  extreme SW Ecuador and NW Peru W of R Marañón.
(Diglossa albilatera affinis), J. T. Zimmer, 1942.  Peru from R Utcubamba watershed in Amazonas (E of R Marañón) and on W slope in Ayacucho S to NW Cuzco.

Meaning of Name: Diglossa: Gr. di, dis= double, twice and glossa= tongue. albilatera: L. albus= white and latus, lateris= side, flank.

See more of the Family Thraupidae