Purple Honeycreeper

ANIMAL:
Purple Honeycreeper Cyanerpes caeruleus

Type of Animal:
Songbird

Habitat:
Forest/forest edges, shrubby areas, plantations, gardens, paramo, wooded borders, second growth, open woodland, tree-scattered clearings, river edges, can be found as high as 7,500 ft

Location(s):
N South America as well as Trinidad & Tobago

Appearance:
Both sexes have long thin downcurved bill, males purple w/ black wings/belly/tail & bright yellow legs, females/juveniles have green upper body, green-streaked yellowish-buff under areas, cinnamon throat, & blue moustachial stripe, females also have yellow legs but not as bright, Trinidadian subspecies has longer bill than mainland birds

Food/Diet:
Insects, insect larvae, spiders, nectar, fruit, fruit juice, berries, fruit seeds, vegetables

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Breeding in zoos, wildlife centers, & aviculture

Lifestyle:
Flocks of 2-11 birds

Additional Info:

Called:
Male: Cock
Female: Hen
Young: Chick
Group: Flock

Weight:
0.42 oz

Gestation:
2.5 weeks

Life Span:
10 years in wild, 15 years in captivity

Height:
4 in

Body Length:
3.94 in

Tail Length:
0.97-1.27 in

Main predators are mammals, birds, snakes, crocodilians, lizards, & tarantulas.
 
Call thin high-pitched zree.
 
Females build cup nests in trees.
 
Females usually lay 2 brown-blotched white eggs.
 
Female does incubation but both parents rear chicks.
 
Active during the day (diurnal).
 
Sexually mature at 9 months old.
 
Often seen hanging upside down when eating/obtaining food.
 
Hover often when foraging & when catching insects, either in flight or on foliage.
 
Very active & often restless birds.
 
Often seen w/ other bird species.

Fun Fact(s):
Respond readily to easily imitated call of Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (a primary predator). Small flocks sometimes mob predators.
 
Sometimes kept as cagebirds.
 
Bill shape well adapted for nectar feeding as well as for piercing fruits.