The greater flowerpiercer (''Diglossa major'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Thraupidae. It is found in the

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran S ...

s of western

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, eastern

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and far northern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s and subtropical or tropical high-altitude

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

Description

The greater flowerpiercer grows to a length of about and is larger than any other species in the genus. The adult has a black mask but is otherwise a bluish-slate colour, with a silvery moustachial streak and silvery streaks on the crown and mantle. It has a chestnut crissum (the area around the

cloaca In animal anatomy, a cloaca ( ), plural cloacae ( or ), is the posterior orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles and birds, a ...

). It is unlikely to be confused with related species because no other members of the genus shares its range.

Distribution and habitat

The greater flowerpiercer occurs around the

s (flat-topped mountains) that are found in the southeastern part of Venezuela and the adjoining areas of northern Brazil, eastern Bolivia and western Guyana. Its altitudinal range is from but it is most common above . It typically occurs in clearings and edges of montane forest, in shrubland and stunted woodland.

Ecology

This bird usually forages alone or in pairs, but sometimes joins small mixed species groups. It feeds on insects as well as nectar which it extracts by probing and piercing flowers. The nest is constructed of grasses and fine twigs and is cup-shaped. It is built among rocks, often under an overhang.

Status

The greater flowerpiercer has a somewhat restricted range but, although the population size has not been quantified, the trend is thought to be downwards because of the gradual decline in the quality of its habitat. The bird is described as being "fairly common but patchily distributed", and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q625481 greater flowerpiercer Birds of the Guianas greater flowerpiercer Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of the Tepuis