Brassy-breasted Tanager
Tangara desmaresti
Small, restless and colorful tanager of montane forests that often joins mixed-species flocks. Mostly greenish yellow, but note the blue forehead and eyering. The bill and area around it is black, with another back patch on the throat. Note the orange breast dark streaks on the back.
Identification
The brassy-breasted tanager (Tangara desmaresti) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Taxonomy
The brassy-breasted tanager was first described as Tangara desmaresti by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1819 on the basis of a specimen from Brazil. The generic name Tangara is from the Tupí word tangara, meaning 'dancer'. The specific epithet desmaresti is a patronym in honor of Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest, who wrote the book Histoire des Tangaras.
- Scientific name
- Tangara desmaresti
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1819)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Tangara
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-crowned Lapwing
Vanellus albiceps
This striking lapwing is best identified by its long yellow wattles, white belly, and gray head split down the center by a broad white crown stripe. In flight, the distinctive wings are almost entirely white with black tips. It prefers breeding and foraging on large permanent rivers with extensive sand banks but will also wander to smaller streams and pans. It utters a loud “kriiip” call when alarmed or defending its territory. The similar Wattled Lapwing differs from White-headed Lapwing by having a dark belly and red-based wattles.
Wren-like Rushbird
Phleocryptes melanops
Distinctive but often rather skulking little bird of fresh and brackish marshes and lakes with dense rushes and other reedy vegetation. Forages in rushes and along the shoreline at muddy edges; often seen making short flights low across openings in rushes, when its broad rusty wingstripe helps with identification. Also note the broad whitish eyebrow and boldly striped upperparts. Often detected by incessant “song”—a steady hard ticking sound like two pebbles being knocked together.
Liben Lark
Heteromirafra archeri
Looks superficially similar to a typical lark, but a careful look reveals an odd shape: a flat, triangular head, a chunky bill, a long neck, and a relatively short tail. There is a beautiful scalloped pattern on the back and thick streaking on the breast. Extremely local and uncommon in grassland habitat. Usually seen singly, running along the ground. Occurs alongside Somali Short-toed Lark, but easily distinguished by its odd shape and scalloped pattern on the back. Somewhat similar in shape to Flappet Lark, but less buffy, especially on the underparts. The flight song is a mix of different call types that are repeated several times in a long jumble.
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