Tit-like Dacnis - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by AndyS56
Cajas National Park, Ecuador, March 2017

Xenodacnis parina

Identification

Male: 11 cm (4¼ in); Female: 13 cm (5 in)

• Deep blue overall plumage
• Dark eyes, bill, and feet
  

Female of all subspecies is duller, with rufous-brown underparts.

Distribution

South America: found in southern Ecuador and Peru.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Female
Photo by Stanley Jones
Azuay Province, Ecuador, November, 2014

Three subspecies are recognized¹:

• X. p. bella:

• Andes of southwestern Ecuador and northern Peru (eastern Andes in Amazonas and La Libertad)

• X. p. petersi:

• western slope of the Andes in central and southern Peru (Cajamarca south at least to Arequipa)

• X. p. parina:

• Andes of south-central Peru (Junín, Ayacucho and Cuzco)

Habitat

Montane scrub forests from 3000 m to 4600 m elevation where Gynox shrubs are present.

Behaviour

Diet

They forage almost entirely by gleaning from the undersides of Gynox leaves, feeding on tiny arthropods including aphids and their sugary secretions . They also like nectar.

Breeding

Juvenile Male
Photo by Stanley Jones
Azuay Province, Ecuador, November, 2014

They build a small cup nest which is placed in a tree.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2016)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Tit-like Dacnis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tit-like_Dacnis

External Links

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