Vermilion Tanager
Calochaetes coccineus
Scarce and beautiful tanager of cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes. Scarlet with black wings, face, and throat. Sexes look alike. Similar to Masked Crimson Tanager, but lacks black belly, has an entirely black bill, and is found at higher elevations. Forages in middle to upper forest levels, and often joins mixed-species flocks.
Taxonomy
The vermilion tanager was formally described in 1858 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater from a specimen collected near the Napo River in Ecuador. He coined the binomial name Euchaetes coccineus. Sclater subsequently discovered that the genus name Euchaetes was already in use for a genus of moths and in 1879 proposed the replacement name Calochaetes. The new name combines the Ancient Greek kalos meaning beautiful with khaitē meaning "mane". The specific epithet coccineus is a Latin word meaning "scarlet-coloured". The genus contains a single species, the vermilion tanager. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Calochaetes coccineus
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1858)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Calochaetes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Karimui Owlet-nightjar
Aegotheles terborghi
Little-known medium-sized owlet-nightjar restricted to the mountainous Karimui Basin of eastern Papua New Guinea. Dark gray overall with fine barring; note chevrons on breast, thick black “eyebrows” that wrap around the head, and a black crown stripe extending down between the eyes; compare with other quite differently-marked montane owlet-nightjars, such as Mountain and Feline. Vocalizations poorly known.
Gray Antbird
Cercomacra cinerascens
Slender, long-tailed antbird of rainforest midstory. One of the most common antbirds in Amazonian rainforest, and can be found around forest edges and dense secondary growth as well as in more mature rainforest. Prefers vine tangles in the subcanopy, and can be very hard to see as they forage in dense, high vegetation. Males are gray with white wing bars; females are grayish brown with white wing bars. Both sexes have bold white spots on the underside of the tail. Its song is one of the most frequently heard sounds in Amazonia, a slow bouncing “erk, CHAT, erk, CHAT, …”
Pinto's Spinetail
Synallaxis infuscata
Spinetail with a largely dark body contrasting with a rich rusty crown, wings, and tail. Note the streaked whitish throat. In its tiny range, found in the understory at the edge of remnant humid forest fragments and in adjacent second-growth vegetation. The call is a repetition of “teh-teh-teh” notes.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.