Azure-rumped Tanager
Poecilostreptus cabanisi
Small, very local tanager of humid Pacific-slope foothills in Chiapas and Guatemala. Found in evergreen forests and adjacent shade-coffee plantations. Usually in pairs or small groups that forage at all levels, but often in the canopy of taller trees. Sexes look alike: pale bluish overall with contrasting black shoulders and black spotting across the breast. In good light, varied lilac, green, and turquoise sheens are apparent on the upperparts.
Identification
Its plumage is mostly pale blue, with a purplish-blue crown, distinctive dark spots across the chest, dark lores and lower auriculars. The mantle is mottled greenish-blue and black. The wings and tail are black with blue edgings. The bill is gray with a dark tip. Cabanis's tanagers utter several sibilant vocalizations, hard trill and twitters.<p>The azure-rumped tanager is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and arthropods. In Guatemala, abundance was positively correlated with the density of Ficus aurea trees. Figs of that tree are a main food source. The nesting season ranges from April to September, during which azure-rumped tanagers move in pairs or family groups. Cooperative breeding has been reported. Outside the breeding season, larger flocks of up to 18 birds have been reported.<p>The azure-rumped tanager is Vulnerable because of deforestation to clear the way for coffee plantations. In Guatemala, only 21% or 25,000 ha (62,000 acres) of the potential area of distribution are still covered with broadleaf forest, the tanager's prime habitat. 80000 ha or 68% of the potential area of distribution is covered with coffee plantations. It is estimated that there are 8250–23250 birds left in Guatemala. For Chiapas, there is no recent estimate, but in the 1980s there were 112000 ha of suitable habitat, which is expected to be much smaller now due to a growing human population and increased pressure by agricultural activities<p>Its closest relative appears to be the similarly patterned grey-and-gold tanager.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Poecilostreptus cabanisi
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1868)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Poecilostreptus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Himalayan Monal
Lophophorus impejanus
Decked out in all the colors of the rainbow, the male is the image of iridescence; green crested head, red neck, green shoulders, blue back, orange tail, and black underparts. When displaying or flushed, flashes a bright white patch on the back. Female is nowhere near as brightly-colored, with a pale blue eye patch, white throat, and streaky brown body. Found in Himalayan hill forest, typically in areas with extensive rhododendron and bamboo-dominated understory.
Striped Owl
Asio clamator
Fairly large, pale, eared owl with honey-colored eyes. Favors savannas and other open areas with scattered trees and bushes, such as cane fields and open plantations. Roosts in dense foliage or on the ground, but often hunts from roadside perches such as utility wires. Note the prominent ear tufts (rarely held flattened), whitish face rimmed with black, and whitish underparts with neat dark streaking. Compare with Short-eared Owl.
Sri Lanka Junglefowl
Gallus lafayettii
Wild chickenlike bird. Male is burnt orange with dark streaks, cockerel-like glossy black tail, and a prominent red comb marked with yellow on the crown. Gray-brown female has white streaks and prominent barring on its wings. Terrestrial, found in pairs or small groups in forests of lowlands and highlands over much of Sri Lanka. Generally keeps to cover. Only confusion is with domestic chicken; note lack of white at tail base, and yellow marking on comb of males, and bars in wings of females in Sri Lanka Junglefowl. Song a harsh “chyok-cher-chow”. Also stuttering “kik-kik-kik-kik” notes.
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