NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Masked Flowerpiercer
Diglossa cyanea (Lafresnaye, 1840)
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 masked flowerpiercer (Diglossa cyanea) is a species of bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is found in humid montane forest and scrub in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Flowerpiercers got their name from the fact that they have a sharp hook on the tip of their upper mandible which they use to slice open the base of flowers to get at the nectar.
Wikipedia contributors, Masked flowerpiercer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:44:08.980231+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diglossa cyanea (Lafresnaye, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1840)
- Common name
- Masked 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 cyanea (Lafresnaye, 1840)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| White-sided FlowerpiercerDiglossa albilatera Lafresnaye, 1843 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated FlowerpiercerDiglossa brunneiventris Lafresnaye, 1846 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Diglossopis cyanea (Lafresnaye, 1840) (Lafresnaye, 1840) | synonym |
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=997764 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:363YD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.