Short-billed Chlorospingus

The yellow-whiskered chlorospingus is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs 17.5 to 28.5 g (0.62 to 1.0 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. p. parvirostris have an olive-green crown, face, nape, upperparts, and tail. Their flight feathers are dusky with olive edges. The center of their throat is pale gray and the sides bright yellow that flares back and up onto the neck, forming the eponymous "whiskers". Most of the rest of their underparts are gray with olive-yellow undertail coverts. Subspecies C. p. huallagae has slightly browner upperparts than the nominate. Their "whiskers" are mustard-yellow. The center of their throat and their breast and belly are smoky brownish gray. C. p. medianus is intermediate between the other two subspecies. All subspecies have a yellowish white to light gray iris, a dusky bill, and dark gray legs and feet.

The yellow-whiskered chlorospingus has a disjunct distribution; each subspecies is separate from the others. The subspecies are found thus:

C. p. huallagae: eastern slope of Colombia's Eastern Andes and south on the eastern slope through Ecuador into northwestern Peru along the border area of Pirua and Cajamarca departments C. p. medianus: eastern slope of Peruvian Andes from southern Amazonas Department to northern Huánuco Department C. p. parvirostris: eastern Andean slope from southern Huánuco south into Bolivia as far as western Cochabamba Department The yellow-whiskered chlorospingus inhabits humid to wet subtropical forest, especially in areas laden with moss and epiphytes. At least in Ecuador it favors the forest's lower to middle zones and its edges. It ranges in elevation between 1,300 and 2,400 m (4,300 and 7,900 ft) in Colombia, mostly between 1,200 and 2,250 m (3,900 and 7,400 ft) in Ecuador, and between 1,100 and 2,750 m (3,600 and 9,000 ft) in Peru.

The yellow-whiskered chlorospingus feeds on berries, fruit, and arthropods. It forages in pairs or groups of up to about eight individuals and regularly joins mixed-species feeding flocks.