Black-backed Thornbill - BirdForum Opus

Ramphomicron dorsale

Female
Photo by COLOMBIA Birding
Santa Marta Mountains, Colombia, July 2010

Identification

Very short bill and elongated body shape.
Male: upperside including tail very dark (may shine purple in the right light), throat a green gorget, breast rufous intermixed with green, and lower belly and crissum white to grey. Tail is deeply forked.
Female: upperside green with rufous uppertail coverts, underside white with green spots on throat and flanks. Tail less strongly forked than male, dark blue to purple with white tips and edge.

Distribution

Endemic to Santa Marta Mountains (north-eastern Colombia)

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Mid to high elevation in humid areas including forest borders and semiopen areas to high-altitude grassland; readily visits garden feeders.

Behaviour

Usually solitary, and apt to fourage at all levels in the forest.

Insects (in addition to nectar) are important as food for this species, it both gleans and flycatches.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-backed Thornbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-backed_Thornbill

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