Turquoise Dacnis

About the Turquoise Dacnis

The turquoise dacnis (Dacnis hartlaubi) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is endemic to Colombia. The turquoise dacnis was formally described in 1855 with its current binomial Dacnis hartlaubi. Several twentieth century authors placed it in its own genus, Pseudodacnis, though by the 1970s most taxonomists returned it to Dacnis. The species is monotypic.

The turquoise dacnis is 11 to 11.5 cm (4.3 to 4.5 in) long. It has a thick, rather heavy, bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a wide black mask from just above the bill to past the eye and around the lower nape. The rest of their head is turquoise. Their mantle is black. Their scapulars, the sides of their back, and their rump and uppertail coverts are turquoise. Their wings and tail are black with blue edges and tips on the tertials. They have a thin black throat patch. Their underparts are turquoise. Adult females have a brownish head and upperparts. Their wings and tail are brownish with thin buff edges on the wing coverts and flight feathers. Their throat and breast are pale gray buff that slightly yellows on the belly... Wikipedia →