Diglossa mystacalis
The Moustached Flowerpiercer (Diglossa mystacalis) is a striking, small passerine belonging to the tanager family (Thraupidae), renowned for its specialized feeding habits. Measuring approximately 13-14 cm (5.1-5.5 in) in length and weighing around 12-16 grams (0.4-0.6 oz), it sports a generally sooty-black or dark slate-gray plumage, with distinct variations across its subspecies. Its most notable field mark, which gives it its common name, is the prominent white malar stripe, resembling a '...
This species primarily inhabits humid montane evergreen forests, cloud forests, forest edges, and shrubby areas in the Andean highlands, typically found at elevations between 2,000 and 3,500 meters (6,500-11,500 ft).
Their primary diet consists of nectar, obtained by piercing the base of flower corollas with their specialized bill. They supplement this with small insects and other invertebrates, which they glean from foliage or catch in flight.
Moustached Flowerpiercers are diurnal birds, actively foraging during daylight hours and likely roosting communally or solitarily in dense foliage overnight. Their foraging strategy is highly specialized: they use their distinctive hooked bill to puncture the base of flower corollas, then insert ...
The Moustached Flowerpiercer is a resident species distributed throughout the humid montane forests of the Andes in South America, from western Venezuela southward through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and into central Bolivia. Its range is highly fragmented due to its preference for specific high-ele...
Least Concern
- The Moustached Flowerpiercer's genus name, *Diglossa*, comes from the Greek words 'di' (two) and 'glossa' (tongue), referring to their unique, deeply cleft and brush-tipped tongue adapted for nectar feeding. - Its common name and species epithet, 'mystacalis,' directly reference the prominent w...