Red-legged Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyThraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)
- GenusCyanerpes (Blue Honeycreepers)
- SpeciesCyanerpes cyaneus (Red-legged Honeycreeper)
About the Red-legged Honeycreeper
The red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) is a small songbird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is regularly found in Mexico, every Central American country, Trinidad and Tobago, and every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It has also occurred as a vagrant in the United States, Argentina, and some southern Caribbean islands.
The red-legged honeycreeper was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae with the binomial Certhia cyanea. Linnaeus based his description on "The Black and Blue Creeper" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the English naturalist George Edwards from a specimen collected in Suriname. The purple honeycreeper was named the type species of the genus Cyanerpes when the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser erected the genus in 1899. The specific epithet cyaneus is a Latin word meaning "dark-blue".
The purplish honeycreeper (Chlorophanes purpurascens), a bird from Venezuela known only from the type specimen, is considered to be an intergeneric hybrid between the green honeycreeper... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Red-legged Honeycreeper in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
Shining Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes lucidus
Black-headed Saltator
Saltator atriceps
Morelet's Seedeater
Sporophila morelleti
Yellow-winged Tanager
Thraupis abbas
Golden-hooded Tanager
Stilpnia larvata
Buff-throated Saltator
Saltator maximus
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Crimson-collared Tanager
Ramphocelus sanguinolentus
Gray-headed Tanager
Eucometis penicillata
Variable Seedeater
Sporophila corvina
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Tiaris olivaceus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Red-legged Honeycreeper in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Honeycreeper sighting in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, based on 436 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Red-legged Honeycreeper in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?
September has the highest sighting rate for Red-legged Honeycreeper in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in our monthly data.