Tit-like Dacnis Xenodacnis parina Scientific name definitions

The sole member of the genus Xenodacnis is in many ways a remarkable-looking bird, perhaps more akin to a flowerpiercer than a dacnis. Males have striking-blue plumage; however, the bill is shorter and unhooked, unlike most Diglossa species. Females, in contrast, are largely blue above, becoming browner over the mantle, with pale orange-rufous underparts, but share the small, tit-like bill. There is some geographical variation in the plumage and size of both sexes. The Tit-like Dacnis is generally fairly common but undoubtedly local in high-altitude woodland, especially in Polylepis or Gynoxys, up to at least 4600 m. Its geographical distribution reaches as far north as Ecuador, but is concentrated on the Peruvian Andes.