The Purple Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. The male is purple with black wings, tail and belly, and bright yellow legs. Females and immatures have green upper parts, and green-streaked yellowish-buff under parts. The throat is cinnamon, and there is a blue moustachial stripe. Habitats include canopies of tall humid terra firme and várzea forest, wooded borders, second growth, open woodland and tree-scattered clearings, river edges, plantations and gardens.
Geography: South America
Song / Call: The call of purple honeycreeper is a thin high-pitched zree and “psit” notes, often constant
Size / Weight: 4″ / 8 – 14 g
Life Span: 17 years
Sexing: Easily sexed
Temperament: The Purple Honeycreeper is often found in small groups. A bold and inquisitive bird, the Purple Honeycreeper responds readily to the call of the ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum), a presumed predator, by coming out of cover and searching to mob it.
Breeding: The female Purple Honeycreeper builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two brown-blotched white eggs. Nestlings are fed by both adults
