Buff-throated Saltator vs Chocoan Nectar Bat

Saltator maximus compared with Lonchophylla chocoana

Key Differences

• Buff-throated Saltator is Least Concern while Chocoan Nectar Bat is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buff-throated Saltator	Chocoan Nectar Bat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Thraupidae	Phyllostomidae
Genus	Saltator	Lonchophylla
Species	Saltator maximus	Lonchophylla chocoana

Evolutionary Relationship

Buff-throated Saltator and Chocoan Nectar Bat share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Buff-throated Saltator

LC — Least Concern

Chocoan Nectar Bat

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buff-throated Saltator	Chocoan Nectar Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Buff-throated Saltator

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Chocoan Nectar Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

Buff-throated Saltator

A large, handsome saltator of humid forest, forest edge, and secondary woodland from Mexico through Central America and south to Bolivia and Brazil, buff-throated saltators display green upper parts with a distinctive white supercilium, black malar stripe, and warm buff throat. They are common in forest margins and gardens, producing rich, melodious warbling songs. They forage on seeds, fruit, and buds, occasionally joining mixed-species flocks. One of the most frequently observed saltators across their broad neotropical range.

Chocoan Nectar Bat

The Chocoan Nectar Bat (Lonchophylla chocoana) is a small, highly specialised bat in the family Phyllostomidae, endemic to the Chocó biogeographic region of northwestern South America — one of the wettest and most biodiverse regions on the planet, spanning the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador. It belongs to the genus Lonchophylla, a group of nectarivorous (nectar-feeding) bats characterised by an elongated snout, a long, brush-tipped tongue adapted for reaching deep into flowers, and reduced cheek teeth reflecting their liquid diet. Like other lonchophyllines, the Chocoan Nectar Bat plays an important ecological role as a pollinator of night-blooming plants whose flowers are adapted for chiropterophily (bat pollination), including species of Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, and various other families. It roosts in caves, tree hollows, and dense vegetation in lowland and foothill forests of the Chocó. The IUCN classifies this species as Data Deficient, reflecting limited survey data on its distribution, population size, and ecology. The Chocó region, despite its extraordinary biodiversity, is under severe pressure from deforestation for palm oil and other agro-industrial crops, and any specialist bat dependent on intact forest and its flowering resources is potentially vulnerable to habitat loss.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador