Opisthoprora euryptera
The Mountain Avocetbill (Opisthoprora euryptera) is an enigmatic and highly specialized passerine bird, renowned for its strikingly unique, strongly recurved (upcurved) bill. Measuring between 16-18 cm in length with a wingspan of 22-25 cm and weighing 20-28 grams, this medium-sized songbird exhibits a largely cryptic plumage of olive-green dorsally, fading to a pale grey-green on its underparts. Males are distinguished by iridescent violet-blue patches on their crown and throat, which are du...
Found exclusively in high-altitude cloud forests, elfin forests, and subalpine scrub, typically between 2500 and 4000 meters above sea level.
Feeds primarily on nectar from high-altitude flowering plants and small arthropods, including spiders and insects, gleaned from mosses and epiphytes.
Mountain Avocetbills are primarily diurnal, active from dawn to dusk, often roosting cryptically within dense montane vegetation or rock crevices. Their foraging strategy is highly specialized, using their distinctive upcurved bill to probe deep into mosses, lichens, bromeliads, and epiphytes, ex...
The Mountain Avocetbill's range is restricted to the high-elevation cloud forests and subalpine zones of the Andes Mountains. Its primary distribution extends from the extreme southern reaches of Colombia, through Ecuador and Peru, potentially reaching northern Bolivia. It is an altitudinal migra...
Near Threatened
- The Mountain Avocetbill's strikingly upcurved bill is a marvel of convergent evolution, allowing it to access food sources unavailable to other bird species in its habitat. - Despite its name, its bill functions more like a specialized probe or gleaner rather than the sweeping motion of a tradi...