This flowerpiercer occurs in the highlands from Costa Rica to western Panama. It can pierce the base of a flower with its upturned bill to obtain nectar.
Males are blue-gray; females are olive-brown with buff underparts. The bill curves upward at the tip.
It occurs in montane forest, forest edge, clearings and gardens. It may pierce the base of flowers to take nectar, sometimes without pollinating the flower.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.