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TANAGERS -
THRAUPIDAE - PART I
Paroaria cardinals to Thraupis tanagers
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Red-cowled Cardinal
Paroaria dominicana
Barra Grande, Bahia state, Brazil.
Recent genetic analysis (see here for reference) has shown that the cardinals in this genus belong with the tanagers. (D3) |

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Red-capped Cardinal
Paroaria gularis gularis
Amazonia Lodge, Madre de Dios department, Peru.
(D2)
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Yellow-billed Cardinal
Paroaria capitata capitata
Pousada Piuval, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Very similar to Red-capped, but note the difference in bill color and leg color. (D2)
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Cinnamon
Tanager
Schistochlamys ruficapillus ruficapillus
Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
A tanager mainly of drier, scrubby habitats of interior Brazil. (D3)
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Magpie
Tanager
Cissopis leverianus major
Balbina Forest, Bandeira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
(D3)
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Magpie
Tanager
Cissopis leverianus leverianus
Pacto Sumaco road, Napo province, Ecuador.
A characteristic bird of the Amazon basin, but
it also occurs locally in the Atlantic Forest, as in the previous
photo. The two races are very similar. (D1) |
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White-banded
Tanager
Neothraupis fasciata
Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
Male. A cerrado specialist, occurring in Brazil and adjacent parts of Bolivia and Paraguay. (D3) | | White-banded
Tanager
Neothraupis fasciata
Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
Female, probably the mate of the male to the left. (D3) |

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Scarlet-throated Tanager
Compsothraupis loricata
Palmeiras, Bahia state, Brazil.
Males. A big, aberrant tanager endemic to dry
forests of northeastern Brazil. They often move around in large flocks
of a dozen birds or more. (D3)
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Scarlet-throated Tanager
Compsothraupis loricata
Palmeiras, Bahia state, Brazil.
Female. (D3) |
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White-capped
Tanager
Sericossypha albocristata
Above Jardín, Antioquia department, Colombia.
A unique Andean tanager that looks and behaves far more like a
jay. It occurs in temperate forests from extreme southern
Venezuela to northern Peru. (D3) |
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Hooded
Tanager
Nemosia pileata pileata(?)
Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil.
Male, with a female peering into the frame on the
right. This is a rather widespread and locally common bird in South
America. The only other member of its genus, the Cherry-throated
Tanager (N. rourei), is one of the rarest and most endangered birds on the continent. (D3) |
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Black-capped Hemispingus Hemispingus atropileus atropileus Cerro Toledo, Loja province, Ecuador. Hemispinguses are warbler-like tanagers of high Andean forests. (S5) | | White-rumped Tanager
Cypsnagra hirundinacea hirundinacea
Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
A cerrado specialist like the White-banded Tanager above, often occurring together with it. (D3) |
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Gray-headed
Tanager
Eucometis penicillata cristata(?)
Soberania NP, Panama province, Panama.
Presumably a pair. Another rather widespread species, occurring in both wet and dry forest. (S2f)
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Fulvous-crested
Tanager
Tachyphonus surinamus brevipes
Shiripuno Lodge, Pastaza province, Ecuador.
Male. (D3) |
 | White-shouldered Tanager Tachyphonus luctuosus panamensis 6.5 km east of Guallabillas, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Female. The male is totally different - black with white shouldered patches. (S5f) |
 | Ruby-crowned Tanager Tachyphonus coronatus Hotel do Ypê, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. The ruby crown is concealed most of the time. This species replaces While-lined Tanager T. rufus (see next) in southern South America. (S5) |
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White-lined Tanager
Tachyphonus rufus
Rancho Grande, Henri Pittier NP, Aragua state, Venezuela.
Male. (D3) |
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White-lined Tanager
Tachyphonus rufus
Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica.
Male.
In neither of these two shots can you see the white wing-linings that
give the bird its name. It's a feature that under most circumstances is
only visible in flight. (D3) |
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Masked
Crimson Tanager
Ramphocelus nigrogularis
Amazonia Lodge, Madre de Dios department, Peru.
Unlike the rest of the genus, this one is not sexually dimorphic. (D2) |
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Crimson-collared Tanager
Ramphocelus sanguinolentus apricus
Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica.
Photographed in the fog. Obviously a close relative of the previous, and likewise not sexually dimorphic. (D3) |
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Crimson-backed
Tanager
Ramphocelus dimidiatus isthmicus
El Valle, Cocle province, Panama.
Female. (S2f) |
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Brazilian
Tanager
Ramphocelus bresilius dorsalis
Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil.
Male. A brilliant bird endemic to lowland
areas of eastern Brazil. It does fine in very degraded forest and even
coastal scrub, so it has not sufferred from the massive deforestation
throughout it's range. (D3) |
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Passerini's Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica.
Male, with the feathers on his rump all fluffed up. Normally it is not as obvious. (D3) |
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Blue-gray
Tanager
Thraupis episcopus quaesita
Mirador Rio Blanco, Los Bancos, Pichincha province, Ecuador.
A common and familiar bird throughout the northern
parts of the neotropics. This is an example of one of the races with no
white in the wings. (D3) |
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Blue-gray
Tanager
Thraupis episcopus coelestis
Napo Wildlife Center, Orellana province, Ecuador.
Several of the races east of the Andes have big white patches in their wings. (D1)
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Glaucous
Tanager
Thraupis glaucocolpa
20km south of Calabozo, Guárico state, Venezuela.
A bird very similar to the Blue-gray Tanager, but with a very gray face & back and a white belly. It occurs mainly in the Llanos and the arid littoral of Venezuela and Colombia. (D3) |
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Azure-shouldered
Tanager
Thraupis cyanoptera
Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil.
Rather similar to the sympatric Sayaca Tanager (T.
sayaca), of which I don't have a photo yet. The easiest way to tell
them apart is by the dark loral patch of the Azure-shouldered; Sayaca
has a very white face that gives it a blank expression.
Azure-shouldered also has (on average) a thicker bill and more blue on
the wings. (D3)
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Palm
Tanager
Thraupis palmarum violilavata Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador.
One of the most common and widespread of the tropical tanagers. (S5) |
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Blue-and-yellow
Tanager
Thraupis bonariensis shulzei
Cuesta del Obispo, Salta province, Argentina.
Male. An example of one of the southern races of this species, which are on average brighter and more colorful. (D3) |
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