Diglossa cyanea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The masked flowerpiercer (Diglossa cyanea) is a species of bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is found in humid montane forest and scrub in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Flowerpiercers got their name from the fact that they have a sharp hook on the tip of their upper mandible which they use to slice open the base of flowers to get at the nectar.
The masked flowerpiercer was formally described in 1840 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye based on a specimen collected by Auguste Boissonneau near Santa Fe, Bogotá in Colombia. Lafresnaye coined the binomial name Uncirostrum cyaneum. The masked flowerpiercer is now one of 18 flowerpiercers placed in the genus Diglossa that was introduced in 1832 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler.
Five subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Masked Flowerpiercer sighting in Chingaza National Natural Park on a given day, based on 805 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 258 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July, September–October and December–February
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Masked Flowerpiercer in Chingaza National Natural Park on a given day, against about 40% in November, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Masked Flowerpiercer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Masked Flowerpiercer sightings, Chingaza National Natural Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Podocarpus National Park (Ecuador, about 40%) and Los Nevados National Natural Park (Colombia, about 30%).
Same genus: Diglossa
The closest relatives of the Masked Flowerpiercer that you can see in Chingaza National Natural Park (genus Diglossa, Flowerpiercers) are Glossy Flowerpiercer (about 50%), Black Flowerpiercer (about 40%) and White-sided Flowerpiercer (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Masked Flowerpiercer is recorded against all the birds logged in Chingaza National Natural Park (805 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
