Geoffroy’s Daggerbill (Schistes geoffroyi)

Identification & Behavior: ~9.5 cm (3.7 in).  The male Geoffroy’s Daggerbill is mostly green with an iridescent green gorget and purple patches on the sides of the chest. The subspecies “goeffroyi” has white bordering the purple patches. The female is a dull version of the male with a grayish throat and white stripe down from the eye. The tail is roundish and two-toned, whitish tipped in the female. The bill is straight and wedged in the tip.  Dull females may resemble a Speckled Hummingbird, but is distinguished by lacking the specks.

Status: The Geoffroy’s Daggerbill is uncommon in the understory and edges of montane forest on the east slope of the Andes. It ranges at elevations between 800 – 2300 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Pico-Daga de Geoffroy.

Sub-species: Geoffroy’s Daggerbill (Schistes geoffroyi geoffroyi), Bourcier, 1843. Andes S through E Colombia and E Ecuador to SE Peru (Cuzco).
(Schistes geoffroyi chapmani), Berlioz, 1941. E slope from S Peru (S Cuzco) to C Bolivia (Cochabamba).

Meaning of Name: Schistes: L. with a wedge. geoffroyi: In honor of Professor Isidore Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire (1805-1861) French zoologist.

Formerly known as Wedge-billed Hummingbid (2018).

See more of the Family Trochilidae