Red-legged Honeycreeper

  Cyanerpes cyaneus

eBird describes the Red-legged Honeycreeper like this:  Small, warbler-like tanager of tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge, woodland, and semi-open areas with taller trees. Often occurs in small groups, sometimes larger flocks, usually in the canopy of flowering trees, where it probes for nectar with its long bill. Red legs are bright on male, dullest on young birds. Male is blue in breeding plumage, with a turquoise cap; female and non-breeding male are greenish overall with faint streaking on the chest. In flight, the underside of the wings flash bright sulphur-yellow.

The Birds of the World site introduces this bird this way:  The Red-legged Honeycreeper is a small relative of the tanagers that is very common in Central and northern South America from Mexico south to Brazil.  The species has a catholic diet and will feed on fruit, insects, and even nectar in a variety of forest habitats.  The male is a brilliant blue with a turquoise head, black bill and eye mask, black wings, back, and tail, and the eponymous red legs; however, after breeding, males have a molt that produces a dull eclipse-type plumage, which is atypical of Neotropical passerines.  Females are pale green throughout with dull legs.

I saw my first Red-legged Honeycreeper on the morning of February 5, 2023 while at the Donde Copé blind.  The first one I saw that morning was an immature male.  A few minutes later I saw a beautiful adult male.  What a striking little bird!  To see my blog post that includes my visit to Donde Copé, look here.