Masked Crimson Tanager
Ramphocelus nigrogularis
Small, attractive tanager; bright crimson and black with a black mask and silver bill. Most commonly found in vegetation around oxbow lakes, also sometimes found in nearby forests and along rivers. Sexes similar though females are slightly duller than males. Extensive crimson and black mask easily distinguish this species from other tanagers within its range.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ramphocelus nigrogularis
- Authority
- (Spix, 1825)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Ramphocelus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The masked crimson tanager has been speculated to engage in reverse sexual dominance behavior similar to their congener pair, the silver-beaked tanager. The masked crimson tanagers, who belong to the passerine bird order exhibit this behavior similar to that of their cousin. However, there is no observable evidence to support the hypothesis that the masked crimson tanager are among the rare and unexplained phenomenon of reverse sexual dominance. Under normal circumstances, passerine species of birds exemplify a default hierarchy of dominance wherein larger, heavier birds tend to dominate the smaller, lighter birds and males tend to dominate females. Between masked crimson tanagers and the silver-beaked tanager, individuals engage in a form of interference competition, also known as competition by resource defense, when partitioning resource-rich habitats. The masked crimson tanager prefer to inhabit sites close to or around oxbow lakes, a common geographical feature of their native Amazon biome. They demonstrate aggression while defending the more productive areas around the lakes, causing the silver-beaked tanager to occupy the riparian forest. The masked crimson tanagers are competitively superior and dominate most interspecies interactions with their cousin.<p>The masked crimson tanager breeds in between the dry and wet seasons of the seasonal tropics that they occupy. This species of tanager participates in cooperative breeding, which involves the communal care and protection of the offspring. For the masked crimson tanager, as well as other lake-margin bird species, cooperative breeding may be favored due to high population density and scarcity of habitable space.<p>In neotropical forests, the masked crimson tanager congregates in mixed flocks much like those seen in flycatchers and vireos. The degree to which the masked crimson tanager forms mixed flocks correlates with the relative extent to which broad-leafed canopy make up the composition of the neotropical forest.<p>Like most tanagers, masked crimson tanagers are mainly frugivorous, supplementing their fruit diets with small insects such as flying termites. Their insectivorous tendency is driven by the periodic cycle of the breeding of termites, which produce winged males and females when sexually active. These termites are richer in nutrients than normal wood termites and therefore it may become more ecologically sound for the masked crimson tanager to feed on these insects to supplement their existing diets.<p>Masked crimson tanagers may also feed on the nectar of flowers as part of their diet. They have not been observed opening flowers themselves, only feeding on nectar from flowers already been opened by some other species of bird or insect. They feed on flowers of Erythrina fusca plants without damaging them, while simultaneously contacting the anthers of the flowers with their heads, thus making them effective pollinators.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Northern Shrike-tit
Falcunculus whitei
Small bird with short, heavy bill. Green above, yellow below, with bold black-and-white head pattern. Male has black chin, female dark greenish. Found in parts of the Top End of the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Inhabits eucalypt woodlands. Song a loud clear three-note whistle followed by a longer rising whistle. Formerly treated as one of the geographically isolated subspecies of Crested Shrike-tit.
Spotted Bowerbird
Chlamydera maculata
A brownish, mottled, strongly marked bowerbird with warm brown tones overall and a small pink crest on the nape. Loud rasping calls include hisses and squawks. Occurs in open woodlands, as well as in gardens and town parks within its range. Males decorate their avenue bowers with pale objects such as small bones and shells. Western Bowerbird is paler, and its range is further west. Spotted Bowerbird lives in inland portions of Queensland and New South Wales.
Masked Fruiteater
Pipreola pulchra
Chunky green bird with a broad, blunt bill. Males have a bright orange bill, a blackish face, a yellow-orange necklace that bleeds into the breast, and a yellow lower belly; females are nearly entirely green with faint streaking below and a dull orange bill. Notice the females’ dull olive legs and streaked, not scaled pattern underneath, which distinguish it from the similar, orange-legged female Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater. Perches inconspicuously in the mid-story of humid montane forest, where it is often found around fruiting trees and occasionally joins mixed-species flocks.
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