Bulletin 418 - Colombia 2022 #15 - Tanagers - Part 4

 I was planning to go to Peru in 2022 but there were riots and road closures in the areas we were planning to go. So at the last minute I went back to Colombia and saw some other places. 

Unfortunately, there was a lot of overlap, so I did not get a lot of new birds on the trip. However, many areas now have set up feeding stations and several were built for photography. I used the same guide Pablo Florez and I had my daughter with me on the trip this year.

However on the bright side, the setups for photography and the number of places that had feeders allowed me to get many improved photos of birds I had mediocre photos previously.

The tanager family (thraupidae) is another huge New World family of birds with 386 species currently. The range from the plain seedeaters to the gaudy Tangara genus of beautiful birds.

The last group of tanagers are some of the most colorful. We have 4 with the name 'golden'.

The 5.3" male Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) is gold with a black streaked back and wings and a black ear spot.

Golden Tanager 

The 5.3" male Golden-eared Tanager (Tangara chrysotis) is a multi-colored tanager with a gold and black face.

Golden-eared Tanager

The 6.5" Golden-crowned Tanager (Iridosornis rufivertex) is a blue bodied tanager with a black head and gold cap.

Golden-crowned Tanager

The 5" Golden-naped Tanager (Chalcothraupis ruficervix) is similar in color to the previous one, but the gold is on the occiput.

Golden-naped Tanager

The 5" male Saffron-crowned Tanager (Tangara xanthocephala) ia another beautiful multi-colored bird.

Saffron-crowned Tanager

The 6" male Tawny-crested Tanager (Tachyphonus delatrii) is an all black bird with  a tan crest.

Tawny-crested Tanager 

The final tanager is the 5" Rufous-throated Tanager (Ixothraupis rufigula). This bird is an easy ID with his black head and back, spotted breast and orange throat.

 Rufous-throated Tanager

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 118 of the 386 species of tanagers

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

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Bulletin 267 - Ecuador 2106 #1 - Tanagers

I just got back from a 12 day tour to birding spots in northern Ecuador. I used the same guide as last year, Pablo Andrade. We started in the Amazon and visited several locations on both slopes of the Andes as well as way up on the paramo (tundra) at 15,000 feet elevation.

It was a huge success with 137 new species of birds, (23 hummers, 21 tanagers, 5 antpittas, condor) and 11 mammals, and a caiman and anaconda. Thanks Pablo for an amazing trip.

I have been asked to provide the location where the birds were found. I will try to provide proximity information at least to the lodge where we stayed when we saw the bird.

Shiripuno Lodge in Amazon  (SH)
Archidona a town on the east slope  (AR)
San Isidro Lodge at a higher elevation on east slope (SI)
Guango Lodge even higher on east slope (GU)
Puembo - a suburb of Quito at a B&B for birders (PU)
Antisana reserve on the paramo    (AN)
Yanacocha reserve   (YA)
Mindo area on west slope has several close reserves that we visited (MI)

At the end of each bird description, I will give the 2 letter code where the photo was taken.

So here are some of the tanagers. The tangara genus is considered to be the most beautiful tanagers. The plainest of them on the trip is the 5.5" Scrub Tanager (Tangara vitriolina). It is pale green with a rufous cap and dark mask. PU

Scrub Tanager

The  5" Black-capped Tanager (Tangara heinei) is blue with light blue throat and black cap.  SI

Black-capped Tanager

Another blue and black one is the 5.25" Beryl-spangled Tanager (Tangara nigroviridis). Is is several shades of blue.  SI

Beryl-spangled Tanager

And a third one is the 5" Blue-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanicollis). This one has a splash of yellow on the shoulder.  MI

Blue-necked Tanager

A real stunner is the 5.25" Saffron-crowned Tanager (Tangara xanthocephala). We got several good views of this bird from a rooftop deck at San Isidro lodge.

Saffron-crowned Tanager

The 5" Golden-naped Tanager (Tangara ruficervix) is another black and blue one, but he has a yellow patch on the back of his head.   MI

Golden-naped Tanager

The 5.5" Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) is a bright orange-gold with black markings on wings and a spot on the cheek.  MI

Golden Tanager

The 4.75" Rufous-throated Tanager (Tangara rifigula) has a black head, spotted breast, scaly back and rufous throat.   MI

Rufous-throated Tanager

The last of the these is the 5.5" Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii). It is black and blue with a red and orange face.  MI

Flame-faced Tanager

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2016 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.