Blue-backed conebill
| Blue-backed conebill | |
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| C. s. sitticolor seen in Caldas, Colombia on top of a Chilca plant
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Conirostrum |
| Species: | C. sitticolor
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| Binomial name | |
| Conirostrum sitticolor Lafresnaye, 1840
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The blue-backed conebill (Conirostrum sitticolor) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae (South American tanagers). It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Taxonomy
[edit]The blue-backed conebill was described by French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1840.[2] Who placed it in the genus Conirostrum, along with the other species of conebills. It was originally called the Purple conebill, with two of its subspecies, C. s. intermedium and C. s. cyaneum being described as different species, the Venezuelan purple conebill and the Peruvian purple conebill respectively.[3] There are currently three recognized subspecies:[4]
- C. s. sitticolor - (Lafresnaye, 1840): Central Ranges of Colombia, through Ecuador into the west slopes of the Andes of northwestern Peru
- C. s. intermedium - (Berlepsch, 1893): the Andes of western Venezuela in the states of Mérida and Táchira
- C. s. cyaneum - (Taczanowski, 1875): the eastern slopes of the Andes from northern Peru into central Bolivia.
Description
[edit]Blue-backed conebill is a small bird, weighing 11-13g.[5] While subspecies differ slightly in appearance, all subspecies have some amount of black on their head, a blue back, rump, and tail, and an orange underside. The nominate subspecies, C. s. sitticolor has a fully black head and throat, and black wings, while C. s. cyaneum has a black cheek, chin, lore, and crown with a blue post-ocular stripe and throat, and blue wings. As the name would indicate, C. s. intermedium has an appearance intermediate between the two subspecies, with a black face, throat, and crown, a blue post-ocular stripe that doesn't extend past the eye and black wings.
Behaviour
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Like other conebills, the Blue-backed conebill is an insectivore, foraging for insects mainly in the canopies of trees. It is often found in mixed species flocks alongside with other insectivore species like Pearled treerunner, Streaked tuftedcheek, Grey-hooded bush tanager, and Black-headed hemispingus.[6] In his work on the social dynamics of mixed species flocks, M. Moynihan notes that the Blue-backed conebill prefers to associate with other conebills, particularly Rufous-browed conebill, White-browed conebill, and Capped conebill.[7] Its breeding and nesting habits remain almost entirely unstudied.
Distribution
[edit]The Blue-backed conebill is found along the Andes range from northern to central South America. Its northern terminus being Cerro Pintado on the Colombia-Venezuela border and its southern terminus being Cochabamba Department in Bolivia. In Venezuela it is found in the Cordillera de Mérida and the Sierra de Perijá mountain ranges in the states of Zulia, Táchira, Mérida, Barinas, Trujillo, Portuguesa, and Lara.[8] In Colombia it is found in the Central and Eastern Ranges of the Andes, as well in the Sierra de Perijá Range and in an isolated population near the town of Frontino.[9] In Ecuador, it is found in the central part of the country in the La Sierra region from the Colombian border in the north to the Peruvian border in the south. C. s. sitticolor continues on the western slopes of the Andes until it reaches the southern limit of its range in Cajamarca.[9] C. s. cyaneum is also found in Peru, starting from Amazonas in the north and continuing along the eastern slopes of the Andes into central Bolivia.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Conirostrum sitticolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22722108A94749558. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22722108A94749558.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ de Lafresnaye, Baron Nöel Frédéric Armand André (1840). "Oiseaux Nouveaux de Santa-Fé de Bogota". Revue zoologique. 3: 102. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Knatchbull-Hugessen, Wyndham 3rd Baron Brabourne; Chubb, Charles; Grönvold, Henrik; Swann, Harry Kirke (1912). The birds of South America. London: R. H. Porter. p. 394. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Blue-backed conebill". Avibase. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Peraza, Camilo A.; Baptiste, Maria Piedad; Ahumada, Jorge A. (2006). "Body weights of 98 species of Andean cloud-forest birds". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 126: 296. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Poulsen, Ben Otto (1996). "Species composition, function and home-range of mixed-species bird flocks in a primary cloud forest in Ecuador". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 116: 69. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Moynihan, M. (1979). Geographic variation in social behavior and in adaptations to competition among Andean birds. Cambridge: Nuttall Ornithological Club. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Hilty, Steven L. (1999). "Three bird species new to Venezuela and notes on the behaviour and distribution of other poorly known species". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 119: 233. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Blue-backed Conebill Conirostrum sitticolor". BirdLife International. Retrieved 15 May 2024.