Slaty Flowerpiercer

How to find it

Look at the sunlit edges of forest, in clearings and in flower gardens in the mountains, where it feeds on nectar. Check the centre of flowering plants, where it hides to reach flowers from behind. Males can give away their position to hummingbirds by calling, so listen for the thin 'tsip' as well as watching the blooms. Expect brief views, since hummingbirds chase it even when it hides in the foliage. Once you have a bird in view, check the hooked upper bill.

How to recognise it

This is a small bird, about 10 cm long and about 9 g, roughly warbler-sized. It has dark eyes and an upturned bill with a hooked tip on the upper half.

The adult male is slaty blue-gray, with a lead-gray throat and breast. The bill is black, with a paler base on the lower half.

Females and young birds are dull olive-brown. Young birds look like the adult female, usually with two buffy wing bars and faint streaks on the breast. Males get adult body plumage during their first year.

On a dull brown bird, check the bill first. The pronounced hook on the upper bill is the clue.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It is usually alone or in pairs. Besides nectar, it picks insects from foliage or catches them in flight, including flies, beetles, wasps and moth larvae.

Hummingbirds defend their flowers, so the flowerpiercer slips into dense foliage and approaches blooms stealthily from behind, hidden among the leaves.

Breeding runs from August to December, and sometimes into March. The nest is a bulky cup of moss and plant fibre, set 0.4 to 4 m up, and the clutch is two pale blue eggs.

Where it lives

It lives in the canopy and edges of mountain forest. It is most numerous in sunny clearings and in open areas with flowering shrubs, including gardens.

It is a common resident of the higher parts of the country. It starts at about 1200 m in the Guanacaste range, 1500 m in Tilarán, and 1900 m in the Central Volcanic and Talamanca ranges. It reaches páramo above the treeline.

Similar birds

Across most of its range it is the only flowerpiercer, and the pronounced hook on the upper bill identifies it easily. The female is brown with paler underparts, so check the bill on dull birds.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the bird is called Pinchaflor Plomizo, in Panama Pinchaflor Pizarroso, and another Spanish name is Diglosa Pizarra. The Latin name plumbea means lead-colored, and Diglossa means double tongue. The first description in 1861 gave Costa Rica as the type locality.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident endemic (R-END); it is common, listed as Least Concern, with a stable population.

Photography tips

Look in the centre of flowering plants, where it hides to reach flowers from behind. Males can give away their position to hummingbirds by calling, which can help you locate one.