Habitat
Subtropical and tropical moist montane forest, subtropical and tropical high altitude grassland and shrubland. From 1,600 - 2,700 m, occasionally 1,350 - 3,200 m.
Bluish Flowerpiercer (Diglossa caerulescens) [XC616292]
by Peter Boesman from Planada de las Diglossas, Colombia (song)
Bluish Flowerpiercer (Diglossa caerulescens) [XC11253]
by id from Bogota, Quebrada la Vieja, Colombia (call)
Subspecies
Genus has sometimes been placed in Coerebidae or Parulidae or even, because of an apparent close relationship to Acanthidops, in Emberizidae. Molecular phylogenies indicate that it is most closely related to Xenodacnis and to Acanthidops, Haplospiza and Catamenia (the last three genera currently placed in Emberizidae), and that all clearly belong in present family. Members of this clade may also be closely related to the Oreomanes/Conirostrum clade. This species, along with Indigo Flowerpiercer (Diglossa indigotica), Deep-blue Flowerpiercer (Diglossa glauca) and Masked Flowerpiercer (Diglossa cyanea), has sometimes been placed in separate genus, Diglossopis, on grounds of some important anatomical features (of corneous tongue, bony palate, maxillo-palatines and mandible, and structure of rhamphotheca), all of which may set them apart from present genus. These four species, with a proportionately smaller bill hook, may have evolved only once, while all other flowerpiercers (with larger hook) may have evolved multiple times. However, recent molecular-genetic data indicate that these four "small-billed" species do not form a monophyletic group, and all flowerpiercers are best retained in a single genus. Some subspecies of present species weakly differentiated; intermedia differs only slightly from saturata (to north of it) and pallida (to south), being intermediate between the two, and may not merit recognition. A slightly paler specimen of saturata from El Chaco, on eastern slope in Ecuador, is perhaps intermediate between that subspecies and media. Some authors have suggested that all specimens from central and western Andes of Colombia and adjacent north-western Ecuador (currently placed in saturata) belong to an as yet unnamed subspecies, and that specimens from most of Ecuadorian range of media (except south-western Ecuador) represent an additional undescribed subspecies. Further study is required.
The following 7 subspecies are recognised:
ginesi Phelps & Phelps Jr, 1952 - Upper R Negro region of Sierra de Perijá, in western Venezuela.
caerulescens Sclater, 1856 - Coastal cordillera of northern Venezuela (Carabobo, Aragua, Vargas and Distrito Federal).
saturata (Todd, 1917) - Andes of Venezuela (from Trujillo south to Táchira), and all three ranges in Colombia and apparently Andes of northern Ecuador (south to Pichincha on western slope; a specimen from El Chaco on eastern slope).
media Bond, J, 1955 - Northern portion of eastern slope of Andes in Ecuador (specimen from at least as far northern as Sierra Azul, in Napo) south to eastern slope in northern Peru (Cajamarca and northern Amazonas).
intermedia Carriker, 1935 - Department of Cajamarca (Chira, Tambillo, Palto, Tabaconas, Levanto and Tamiapampa), in northern Peru.
pallida (von Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1896) - Northern and central Peru (from southern side of R Marañón south to La Libertad, Lima and Junín).
mentalis Zimmer, JT, 1942 - Eastern slope of Andes in southern Peru south to Bolivia (La Paz).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet