Pygmy Flowerpecker Dicaeum pygmaeum Scientific name definitions

8·4 cm; 4·5–5·6 g. Rather plain-looking flowerpecker with relatively short, thin bill. Male nominate race has top of head, back, upperwing and tail olive-black, glossed green, rump dull olive-yellow, upper­tail-coverts dull olive-green; chin, centre of throat and pectoral tufts white, face, side of throat and flanks grey bceoming olive-yellow towards rear, rest of underparts buffy white, mottled grey; iris dark brown; bill black to dark horn; legs brownish-black. Female has head grey, often tinged olive, mantle and back ­olive, lores, anterior supercilium and narrow eyering pale olive to buff-white, face drab grey; underparts drab grey variably tinged olive-yellow, most markedly so on flanks, white pectoral tufts, whitish chin, throat and median line down centre of abdomen to undertail-coverts. Juvenile is greyer than female, and has greenish rump. Races vary mostly in colour of dorsal gloss, and rump colour of male: palawanorum male has gloss more blue-green and confined to shoulders, is generally slightly lighter above than nominate and with duller olive-yellow rump and paler underparts; davao differs from nominate in having greenish-blue gloss above, darker face and sides of throat and breast, more yellow belly and undertail-coverts; fugaense is much blacker above, with more restricted greenish rump, greyish flanks, female and immature male have greyer flanks and much smaller greenish rump patch than nominate; salomonseni is larger and slightly paler than nominate, and has duller olive-yellow rump.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Forest, forest edge and secondary growth, around flowering and fruiting trees, and Loranthus mistletoes; usually below 1000 m, but to over 2000 m on Luzon.

No information.

Loranthus mistletoes, and probably eats fruit, nectar and pollen of other mistle­toes. Forages in canopy, or high in understorey. Forages singly or in small groups; joins mixed-species flocks.

Loud, sharp, almost continuous, irregularly spaced “tip tip…” during foraging; also high “schenk-schenk…”; and double notes “zip-zip…zip-zip…zip-zip”.

Dependent fledgling in May, and birds with active gonads in Feb, Apr, Jul and Dec. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Common through most of its range, which covers most islands of Philippines.