Tanagers (Thraupidae)

Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana) - HBW 16, p. 247

French: Dacnis bleu German: Blaukopfpitpit Spanish: Dacnis Azul

Taxonomy: Motacilla cayana Linnaeus, 1766, Cayenne, French Guiana.
This genus and Cyanerpes were previously regarded as members of a separate family, Coerebidae, but later placed in present family on basis of similarities in skull anatomy; molecular phylogenies indicate that the two genera are sisters and form a monophyletic group with Tersina. Eight subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

ultramarina Lawrence, 1864 - Caribbean slope from extreme E Honduras S to Panama and NW Colombia (on W side of Gulf of Urabá).
callaina Bangs, 1905 - W Costa Rica and SW Panama (Chiriquí).
napaea Bangs, 1898 - N Colombia from Santa Marta region S to E side of Gulf of Urabá and across lower Magdalena Valley.

See all 8 subspecies

ultramarina Lawrence, 1864 - Caribbean slope from extreme E Honduras S to Panama and NW Colombia (on W side of Gulf of Urabá).
callaina Bangs, 1905 - W Costa Rica and SW Panama (Chiriquí).
napaea Bangs, 1898 - N Colombia from Santa Marta region S to E side of Gulf of Urabá and across lower Magdalena Valley.
coerebicolor P. L. Sclater, 1851 - N Colombia (lower Cauca Valley and middle and upper Magdalena Valley).
baudoana Meyer de Schauensee, 1946 - Pacific coast of W Colombia (from Baudó Mts) S to W Ecuador (to at least Pichincha, perhaps formerly S to Guayas).
cayana (Linnaeus, 1766) - E Colombia (E from Meta and Arauca), Venezuela (in Maracaibo region, and generally E of Andes and S of R Orinoco), Trinidad, the Guianas, and Brazil (except S & E).
glaucogularis Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1896 - S Colombia (Caquetá and Putumayo), E Ecuador, E Peru and N & E Bolivia.
paraguayensis C. Chubb, 1910 - E & S Brazil (Maranhão and Ceará S to C Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul), E Paraguay and NE Argentina (Misiones).