Scarlet-throated Tanager
Compsothraupis loricata
Large tanager that resembles an icterid. Males are glossy black with a bright red throat, which is absent on females. An inhabitant of dry scrubby forest (caatinga), gallery woodland, and open areas, usually near water. Seen in pairs or small groups. Song also recalls icterids: a loud “chirt” repeated for long periods. Best distinguished from icterids by its blunter, more curved bill.
Taxonomy
The scarlet-throated tanager was formally described in 1819 by the German naturalist Hinrich Lichtenstein under the binomial name Tanagra loricata. Lichtenstein based his description on the Jacapú that had been described in 1648 by Georg Marcgrave. The type locality is northeastern Brazil. The scarlet-throated tanager is now the only member of the genus Compsothraupis that was introduced in 1915 by the American ornithologist Charles Wallace Richmond. The genus name is formed from the Ancient Greek kompsos meaning "pretty" with thraupis, an unknown small bird. In ornithology thraupis is used to signify a tanager. The specific epithet loricata is from the Latin loricatus meaning "clothed in mail" or "breast-plated". The scarlet-throated tanager is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Compsothraupis loricata
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1819)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Compsothraupis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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