Blue-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera johannae)

Identification & Behavior: ~9.5 cm (4 in). The Blue-fronted Lancebill is green above and deep blue below. The female is green above and bluish-gray below. The male has an iridescent blue forehead or frontlet. The female has an iridescent blue-green frontlet. The tail is round and dusky wit grayish tips. The male Blue-fronted Lancebill is readily distinguished. The female is similar to the larger male Green-fronted Lancebill but is distinguished by size, by having a bluish-green frontlet, and little coppery on the hind neck. These two lancebills are likely to overlap only in the range of the Blue-fronted Lancebill.

Status: The Blue-fronted Lancebill is uncommon on the east slope of the northern and central Andes at elevations ranging between 500 -1400 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Pico-Lanza de Frente Azul.

Sub-species: Blue-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera johannae johannae), Bourcier 1847.

Meaning of Name: Doryfera: Gr. duru= spear and phoros= charging, which has. johannae: in honor of Johanna Loddiges (1847), daughter of the British ornithologist specializing in hummingbirds George Loddiges.

See more of the Family Trochilidae