The Male Red-legged Honeycreeper Velvet Blue Gem

Centered brightly on a smooth, rustic branch, this diminutive bird is an adult male Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus), a…

Centered brightly on a smooth, rustic branch, this diminutive bird is an adult male Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus), a stunning exemplar of Neotropical biodiversity. His entire body is cloaked in an intensely deep, lustrous purplish-blue, often described as velvet-black in poor light, but here exhibiting its full chromatic splendor. The birds most radiant feature is the iridescent, light turquoise-blue cap that sits atop his head, creating a brilliant contrast with the black mask across his face and the rest of his dark plumage. Though his namesake bright red legs are slightly obscured, his specialized, curved black bill is clearly visible, a morphological adaptation vital for extracting nectar from tubular flowers within the rainforest understory and canopy. His upright posture and compact form emphasize the jewel-like quality of this tanager.