| Red-legged honeycreeper | |
|---|---|
_male.jpg) | |
| Adult male, Panama | |
.jpg) | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Cyanerpes |
| Species: | C. cyaneus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyanerpes cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Certhia cyaneaLinnaeus, 1766 | |
Thered-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) is a smallsongbirdspecies in thetanagerfamily (Thraupidae). It is found in thetropicalNew World from southernMexico south toPeru,Bolivia and centralBrazil,Trinidad and Tobago, and onCuba, where possiblyintroduced. It is also rarely found in southern Texas.[2]
The red-legged honeycreeper wasformally described by the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in 1766 in thetwelfth edition of hisSystema Naturae under thebinomial nameCerthia cyanea.[3][4] Linnaeus based his description on "The Black and Blue Creeper" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the English naturalistGeorge Edwards from a specimen collected inSuriname.[5] The red-legged honeycreeper is now placed in thegenusCyanerpes that was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologistHarry C. Oberholser.[6][7] The specific epithetcyaneus is aLatin word meaning "dark-blue".[8]
Elevensubspecies are recognised:[7]
The red-legged honeycreeper is on average 12.2 cm (4.8 in) long, weighs 14 g (0.49 oz) and has a medium-long black, slightly decurved,bill. The male is violet-blue with blackwings,tail and back, and bright redlegs. The crown of itshead is turquoise, and the underwing, visible only inflight, is lemon yellow. After the breeding season, themalemoults into an eclipse plumage, mainly greenish with black wings.
Females and immatures are mainly green, with paler, faintly streaked underparts. The legs are red-brown in the female, and brown in young birds.
Thecall of red-legged honeycreeper is a thin, high-pitchedtsip.
Severalsubspecies are known. Differences are generally slight, with theTobago race C. c. tobagensis being slightly larger than the mainland forms for example.
Thepurplish honeycreeper (Chlorophanes purpurascens), abird from Venezuela known only from thetype specimen, is considered to be anintergeneric hybrid between thegreen honeycreeper and either the red-legged honeycreeper or theblue dacnis.[9]
This is aspecies offorest edge, openwoodland, andcocoa andcitrusplantations. The red-legged honeycreeper is often found in small groups. It feeds oninsects and some seeds,[10] fruit[11] andnectar.[12] It responds readily to the (easily imitated) call of theferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum).
In Costa Rica red-legged honeycreepers generally breed between April and June. The nest is built entirely by the female and is placed in a shrub or tree several meters above the ground. The cup-shaped nest has thin side walls and is formed of stiff fibres. It is attached to the supporting twigs with cobwebs. The clutch consists of two eggs that are laid in early morning on consecutive days. They are 13.4 mm × 19.1 mm (0.53 in × 0.75 in) in size and have a white background with brown speckles forming a ring around the larger end. The female incubates the eggs for 12 or 13 days. When they first hatch the nestlings have their eyes closed and are covered with tuffs of grey down. They are brooded by the female but fed by both parents. They fledge after around 14 days.[13][14]
A specimen studied in theParque Nacional de La Macarena ofColombia was found to be free of bloodparasites.[15]
Common and widespread, the red-legged honeycreeper is not considered a threatened species by theIUCN.[1]
