Green Honeycreeper
(Chlorophanes spiza)
Facts
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IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)
Facts about this animal
The green honeycreeper is a songbird of 12.5-14 cm length and a body-weight of 19 g, characterized by its green plumage and a sharply pointed, black and yellow, and decurved bill.
There is a clear sexual dimorphism: The male has a black head and throat. The plumage of its body is glossy bluish-green, with tertials, wing coverts and edgings on wings and tail somewhat darker, its iris brick-red, and the legs greyish. The female lacks the black head. Its upper parts are olive green, the lower parts yellowish green, and the iris is reddish-brown.
The green honeycreeper frequents the canopy of dense forest but often descends low along forest edges, in clearings with scattered trees and shrubs, or in gardens. They usually live in pairs that often join birds of other species such as tanagers or warblers.
The nest of the green honey creeper is a shallow cup 1.5 to 12 m up in a tree or bush, into which 2 white, finely reddish-brown speckled eggs are laid. Breeding season is April to July.
The food of the green honeycreeper consists of fruit, seed, nectar and insects.
Did you know?
that Costa Rica, where the photos on this page have been taken, boasts more than 830 bird species? This is more than in all of the United States and Canada together, although Costa Rica is not larger than West Virginia.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | AVES |
| Order | PASSERIFORMES |
| Suborder | OSCINES |
| Family | THRAUPIDAE |
| Name (Scientific) | Chlorophanes spiza |
| Name (English) | Green Honeycreeper |
| Name (French) | Guit-guit émeraude |
| Name (German) | Kappennaschvogel |
| Name (Spanish) | Mielero verde |
| Local names | Costa Rica: Rey de Trepadores, Rey del mar |
| CITES Status | Not listed |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
Lilac Roller
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Meso-America and northern South America: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela |
| Habitat | Subtropical and tropical moist lowland forest, including swamps and degraded former forest |
| Wild population | Not known but believed to be large. |
| Zoo population | 13 reported to ISIS (2007) |
In the Zoo
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How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 11F of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Hans Hillewaert
Why do zoos keep this animal
Green honeycreepers are a widespread and fairly common species. Being very colourful and attractive, they are a good ambassador species for the conservation of neotropical lowland forests.