White-winged Tanager
Piranga leucoptera
Fairly small tanager of humid evergreen and pine-oak forest in foothills and highlands. Found mainly in the canopy, usually in pairs or small groups that sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks. Distinctive male is brilliant red with black mask and black wings with neat white wingbars. Female has same plumage pattern as male but is greenish and yellow overall. Calls are high lisping whistles.
Identification
The white-winged tanager is approximately 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 13 to 20 g (0.46 to 0.71 oz). The nominate male is mostly red, with a black "mask" and black wings with white wing bars. The female is dull olive-yellow, but retains the black wings and white wing bars. The juvenile is similar to the female, but duller. The male P. l. latifasciata is darker red and the female a more intense yellow; both sexes have broader white wing bars. The male P. l. venezuelae differs from the nominate only in having a smaller "mask". P. l. ardens is similar to venezuelae but the lower wing bar is narrower.
Taxonomy
The white-winged tanager and the other species of genus Piranga were originally placed in the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. Since approximately 2008 they have been placed in their current family. It and the red-headed tanager (Piranga erythrocephala) have sometimes been placed in genus Spermagra.<p>The white-winged tanager has four recognized subspecies, the nominate Piranga leucoptera leucoptera, P. l. latifasciata, P. l. venezuelae, and P. l. ardens.
- Scientific name
- Piranga leucoptera
- Authority
- Trudeau, 1839
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cardinalidae
- Genus
- Piranga
Range and habitat
The range of white-winged tanager consists of several discontinuous areas. The four subspecies are found thus:<p>In Mexico and northern Central America the white-winged tanager inhabits pine-oak forest and shady coffee plantations. In the rest of its range it is found in humid montane forest, cloud forest, and mature secondary forest. It also can be found in coffee plantations and drier forest. In Mexico it ranges between 100 and 1,800 m (330 and 5,910 ft) of elevation, though it is mostly found above 600 m (2,000 ft) on the Atlantic side. In Costa Rica it is found between 1,100 and 1,850 m (3,610 and 6,070 ft). In Venezuela north of the Orinoco River it ranges from 650 to 2,100 m (2,130 to 6,890 ft) and south of the river from 1,000 to 1,800 m (3,300 to 5,900 ft). It is found between 600 and 2,000 m (2,000 and 6,600 ft) in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The white-winged tanager's diet includes fruit, berries, seeds, and probably insects. Pairs and small groups forage in the forest canopy or edge and may join mixed-species foraging flocks.<p>A female white-winged tanager was documented building a small cup nest high up on a mossy branch. No other information about the species' breeding phenology has been published.<p>The white-winged tanager's song is "a thin, wiry 'e-seé-se-whéét'" [1]. It has a variety of calls [2] [3] [4].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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