The Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana) is common in the sunlit forest canopy, at forest edges, and in second growth forests in the Pacific lowlands and lower foothills of Costa Rica, and although it is a resident there, the Blue Dacnis is uncommon in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. This beautiful bird ranges from Honduras in Central America to Ecuador and Argentina in South America. I observed this noisy pair of Blue Dacnis chattering to each other in some bushes in Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica in May of 2007.

Blue Dacnis males are bright blue with a black throat, black above the bill and around the eyes, mostly black wings, and a black tail. The females are bright green with a bright blue head and blue shoulders. Both sexes have red eyes, reddish legs and feet, and a sharply pointed bill with a reddish base.

This chattering pair of Blue Dacnis were busily foraging at the forest edge and soon disappeared back up into the trees. These small, usually social birds feed on insects, flower nectar, soft, fleshy fruits, and even on bananas at banana feeders, which are often used to attract tropical butterflies.