Alternative names: Greater Flowerpecker; Great Flowerpiercer
- Diglossa major
Identification
17.3 cm. The largest flowerpiercer.
- Broad black mask
- Bluish-slate rest of head with narrow bluish-white moustachial stripe
- Slightly glossed bluish-slate upperparts with indistinct silvery-blue shaft streaks
- Darker wings, black flight-feathers
- Rather long tail blackish with white edges
- Slate grey throat and underparts
- Ochre-rufous undertail-coverts
- Brown to deep red-brown eye
- Pale blue-grey bill, thick at base and strongly hooked
- gilliardi is darker, slightly glossed and has darker black ear-coverts and an only weakly defined moustachial stripe
- disjuncta has only obscure or lacking streaking and deep chestnut vent and undertail-coverts
- chimantae has plain slate-grey underparts and deep chestnut vent and undertail-coverts
Sexes similar. Immatures are dusky brown above, grey-brown with dull whitish streaking below and with chestnut undertail-coverts.
Distribution
Southeast Venezuela and adjacent northern Brazil.
A restricted-range species. Abundant in higher parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Four subspecies recognized:
- D. m. gilliardi in the tepuis of southern Venezuela (Auyan-tepui in southeast Bolívar)
- D. m. disjuncta in the tepuis of southeast Venezuela (Gran Sabana in Bolívar)
- D. m. chimantae in the tepuis of southeast Venezuela (Chimantáa-tepui in Bolívar)
- D. m. major in the mountains of southeast Venezuela and adjacent northern Brazil (Uei-tepui in Roraima)
Habitat
Found in humid and wet montane forest, cloudforest, dense and mossy second growth and borders of melastome-dominated second growth on white sandy soil.
Occurs from 1200 to 2850m. Most abundant above 2000m.
Behaviour
An active species, frequently wing-flicks when moving restlessly through foliage.
Diet
Feeds on nectar. Takes also insects. Forages singly or in pairs, usually not in mixed-species flocks. Searches for food in all levels of forest but more often high.
Breeding
The nest is described as an open cup made of grass and small sticks. It's situated among rocks under overhanging shelf. No other information.
Movements
Poorly known. Some seasonal movements to lower elevations recorded.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2011. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553781
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Greater Flowerpiercer. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Greater_Flowerpiercer
