Bird of the day
Purple honeycreeper
Cyanerpes caeruleus
The purple honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) is a small Neotropical bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. A few, possibly introduced, birds have been recorded on Tobago.
The purple honeycreeper is 4.5 in (11.5 cm) long, weighs 0.42 oz (12 g), and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple with black wings, tail, and belly, and bright yellow legs. Females and immatures have green upperparts and green-streaked yellowish-buff underparts. The throat is cinnamon, and there is a blue moustachial stripe. The Trinidadian subspecies C. c. longirostris has a longer bill than the mainland forms. The call of the purple honeycreeper is a thin high-pitched zree.
Aliases
Cyanerpes caeruleus