NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-sided Flowerpiercer
Diglossa albilatera Lafresnaye, 1843
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-sided flowerpiercer (Diglossa albilatera) is a fairly common and widespread species of flowerpiercer. Flowerpiercers are a genus of birds within the tanager family Thraupidae, with specially adapted bills that enable them to pierce the sides of flower blossoms to access the nectar.
The white-sided flowerpiercer is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
Wikipedia contributors, White-sided flowerpiercer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:02:55.666526+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diglossa albilatera Lafresnaye, 1843
- Name authority
- Lafresnaye, 1843
- Common name
- White-sided Flowerpiercer
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Diglossa
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyThraupidae
- genusDiglossa Wagler, 1832
- speciesDiglossa albilatera Lafresnaye, 1843
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diglossa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-throated FlowerpiercerDiglossa brunneiventris Lafresnaye, 1846 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Masked FlowerpiercerDiglossa cyanea (Lafresnaye, 1840) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black FlowerpiercerDiglossa humeralis (Fraser, 1840) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indigo FlowerpiercerDiglossa indigotica P. L. Sclater, 1856 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Venezuelan FlowerpiercerDiglossa venezuelensis Chapman, 1925 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-bellied FlowerpiercerDiglossa carbonaria (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Scaled FlowerpiercerDiglossa duidae Chapman, 1929 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cinnamon-bellied FlowerpiercerDiglossa baritula Wagler, 1832 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bluish FlowerpiercerDiglossa caerulescens (P. L. Sclater, 1856) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Deep-blue FlowerpiercerDiglossa glauca P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1876 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Merida FlowerpiercerDiglossa gloriosa P. L. Sclater & Salvin, 1871 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-bellied FlowerpiercerDiglossa gloriosissima Chapman, 1912 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559777 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:363Y5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.