Description wikipedia

The blue-backed conebill (Conirostrum sitticolor) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae (South American tanagers). It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The blue-backed conebill is a small bird, weighing 11-13g. While subspecies differ slightly in appearance, all subspecies have some amount of black on their head, a blue back, rump, and tail, and an orange underside. The nominate subspecies, C. s. sitticolor has a fully black head and throat, and black wings, while C. s. cyaneum has a black cheek, chin, lore, and crown with a blue post-ocular stripe and throat, and blue wings. As the name would indicate, C. s. intermedium has an appearance intermediate between the two subspecies, with a black face, throat, and crown, a blue post-ocular stripe that doesn't extend past the eye and black wings. Like other conebills, the blue-backed conebill is an insectivore, foraging for insects mainly in the canopies of trees. It is often found in mixed species flocks alongside other insectivore species like the pearled treerunner, streaked tuftedcheek, grey-hooded bush tanager, and black-headed hemispingus. In his work on the social dynamics of mixed species flocks, M. Moynihan notes that the Blue-backed conebill prefers to associate with other conebills, particularly the rufous-browed conebill, white-browed conebill, and capped conebill. Its breeding and nesting habits remain almost entirely unstudied.