Blue dacnis

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Blue dacnis (Dacnis cayana), also called the turquoise honeycreeper, is a small bird in the tanager family.

- Size: about 12.7 cm long and about 13 g in weight.
- Appearance: Adult male is turquoise blue with black around the eyes, throat, and back; wings and tail are black with turquoise edging. Female and juveniles are mainly green with a blue head and paler underparts.
- Range and habitat: Found from Nicaragua to Panama, on Trinidad, and across much of tropical South America south to Bolivia and northern Argentina. It lives in forests and woodlands, as well as gardens and parks.
- Diet: Eats mostly insects from foliage, flowers, or bromeliads; also fruits; nectar is rarely taken.
- Behavior: Social birds that forage by gleaning insects from plants.
- Breeding: Builds a bulky cup nest in a tree; usually lays 2–3 grey-blotched whitish eggs. The female incubates, with the male feeding her.
- Notes: It’s not a true honeycreeper despite the name. There are eight recognized subspecies. Conservation status is Least Concern.