Blue-backed Conebill

About the Blue-backed Conebill

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.

The blue-backed conebill was described by French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1840 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. There are currently three recognized subspecies:

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. The blue-backed conebill is a small bird, weighing 11-13g. While subspecies differ slightly in appearance... Wikipedia →