TANAGERS   -   THRAUPIDAE   -   PART I

Paroaria cardinals to Ramphocelus tanagers

Red-cowled Cardinal - Paroaria dominicana
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)


Red-capped Cardinal - Paroaria gularis
Yellow-billed Cardinal - Paroaria capitata
Red-capped Cardinal
Paroaria gularis gularis
Amazonia Lodge, Madre de Dios department, Peru.
(D2)

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)


Cinnamon Tanager - Schistochlamys ruficapillus
Cinnamon Tanager
Schistochlamys ruficapillus ruficapillus
Serra do Cipó NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
A tanager mainly of drier, scrubby habitats of interior Brazil. (S5f)


Cinnamon Tanager - Schistochlamys ruficapillus Magpie Tanager - Cissopis leverianus
Cinnamon Tanager
Schistochlamys ruficapillus ruficapillus
Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
(D3)
Magpie Tanager
Cissopis leverianus major
Balbina Forest, Bandeira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
(D3)


Magpie Tanager - Cissopis leverianus
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)


White-banded Tanager - Neothraupis fasciata White-banded Tanager - Neothraupis fasciata
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)


Scarlet-throated Tanager - Compsothraupis loricata
Scarlet-throated Tanager - Compsothraupis loricata
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)
Scarlet-throated Tanager
Compsothraupis loricata
Palmeiras, Bahia state, Brazil.
Female. (D3)


White-capped Tanager - Sericossypha albocristata
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)


Hooded Tanager - Nemosia pileata
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)


Black-capped Hemispingus - Hemispingus atropileus
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
White-rumped Tanager
Cypsnagra hirundinacea hirundinacea
Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
A unique tanager mainly of non-forest habitats of Brazil, also occurring in parts of adjacent Bolivia and Paraguay. Pairs stay close together, they give vert loud, though not very musical, song duets. (S5)


Gray-headed Tanager - Eucometis penicillata
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)


Fulvous-crested Tanager - Tachyphonus surinamus
Fulvous-crested Tanager
Tachyphonus surinamus brevipes
Shiripuno Lodge, Pastaza province, Ecuador.
Male. (D3)


White-shouldered Tanager
Tachyphonus luctuosus panamensis
El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia.
Male. The female is totally different, check out the next photo. (S5)


White-shouldered Tanager - Tachyphonus luctuosus
White-shouldered Tanager
Tachyphonus luctuosus panamensis
6.5 km east of Guallabillas, Pichincha province, Ecuador.
Female. (S5f)


Ruby-crowned Tanager - Tachyphonus coronatus
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)


White-lined Tanager - Tachyphonus rufus
White-lined Tanager
Tachyphonus rufus
Rancho Grande, Henri Pittier NP, Aragua state, Venezuela.
Male. (D3)


White-lined Tanager - Tachyphonus rufus
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)


Masked Crimson Tanager - Ramphocelus nigrogularis
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)


Crimson-collared Tanager - Ramphocelus sanguinolentus
Crimson-collared Tanager
Ramphocelus sanguinolentus apricus
Arenal Observatory, Alajuela province, Costa Rica.
Obviously a close relative of the previous, and likewise not sexually dimorphic. (D3)


Crimson-backed Tanager - Ramphocelus dimidiatus
Crimson-backed Tanager
Ramphocelus dimidiatus isthmicus
El Valle, Cocle province, Panama.
Female. (S2f)


Brazilian Tanager - Ramphocelus bresilius
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)


Passerini's Tanager - Ramphocelus passerinii Passerini's Tanager - Ramphocelus passerinii
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)
Passerini's Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Arenal Observatory, Alajuela province, Costa Rica.
Female. (S5)


Flame-rumped Tanager - Ramphocelus flammigerus
Flame-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus flammigerus flammigerus
Jardín, Antioquia department, Colombia.
Currently this taxon is lumped with the yellow rumped icteronotus of Panama to extreme NW Peru. However, I think it is far more like Passerini's tanager R. passerinii (above) and wonder if it might be better included with that species, or split off as a monotypic species. (D3)














Website design and all photos copyright Nick Athanas
For questions, comments, or photograph licensing info, please email