Venezuelan Flowerpiercer

Rare and very local; a range-restricted northeastern Venezuela endemic confined to a few montane sites in the Turimiquire and Paria regions. A prized, hard-to-reach target with a small, fragmented population.

Small tanager-like flowerpiercer with the characteristic sharply hooked, slightly upturned bill. Male all black; female yellow-olive. Both sexes show a white flash in the underwing/wing-lining, best seen in flight. Lacks the gray/rufous tones of more widespread Diglossa.

Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, forest edge, shrubby second growth and canopy in the NE coastal cordillera; threatened by conversion to (especially shade) coffee and changing agriculture.

Usually alone or in pairs, hyperactive — restlessly piercing flower bases in shrubby areas, edges and canopy. Active and quick, often at flowering shrubs and epiphytes; joins activity at good flower patches.

High, thin tanager-style chips and a weak, jumbled high-pitched song typical of Diglossa. Few recordings exist given its rarity — review what is available on Xeno-canto and Macaulay Library under "Venezuelan Flowerpiercer" or "Diglossa venezuelensis".

Find the flowers first. Locate a productive patch of flowering montane shrubs or epiphytes at the right elevation and wait — this hyperactive piercer reveals itself by movement and the white underwing flash. Brief clients to watch for that flash on a small all-black bird, since a perched silhouette can be passed off as a commoner flowerpiercer.