Silver-beaked Tanager
Ramphocelus carbo
A common understory tanager of suburban areas and forest edge. The bright silver beak stands out on red-and-black males, but the dull gray beak of evenly maroon females and immatures is less obvious. Frequently gives a loud, metallic “pink” call. Active in bushes and other dense growth near the ground, often popping up briefly before dropping nervously back into the undergrowth.
Identification
The silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, Peru and on Trinidad. It is common and conspicuous. Silver-beaked tanagers are 18 centimetres (7 in) long and weigh 25 grams (0.88 oz). Adult males are velvety crimson black with a deep crimson throat and breast. The upper mandible of the bill is black, but the enlarged lower mandible is bright silver in appearance. The bill is pointed upwards in display. The female is much duller, with brownish upperparts, reddish brown underparts and a black bill. There is considerable plumage variation between the various subspecies, differing mainly in the degree of contrast between the upperparts and the throat and breast. It occurs in light woodland and cultivated areas. The bulky cup nest is usually built in a bush, and the normal clutch is two green-blue eggs blotched with black-brown. The female incubates the eggs for 11–13 days before they hatch. The chicks fledge after another 11–12 days. Individuals may live at least 11 years in the wild. These are social birds which eat mainly fruit, but vines, nectar, short grass and insects are also taken. The silver-beaked tanager is often seen in groups of six to ten, frequently giving a call described as cheeng. Its song is a slow thin kick-wick. The silver-beaked tanager was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Lanius carbo.
Taxonomy
Genus: Ramphocelus; Family: Thraupidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Ramphocelus carbo
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1764)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Ramphocelus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Painted Bunting
Passerina ciris
Incomparably beautiful songbird in which adult males are almost too colorful, with a jarring combination of rich blue head, bright red underparts, and lime green back. Females and immature males are plain green and unstreaked, not brown-toned like other buntings. Breeds in shrubby fields and forest edges, where males often sing from a high exposed perch. Found in a variety of weedy or thickety habitats in winter, often in small flocks that like to stay low and hidden. Sometimes visits feeders. Two disjunct populations look and sound very similar, but have different migration routes. Eastern birds, mainly breeding in Georgia and South Carolina, just migrate south to Florida and the Caribbean for the winter. Larger western population centered in Texas migrates to western Mexico and then filters south through Central America.
Ochre-headed Flycatcher
Myiagra cervinicauda
A small flycatcher. Male is glossy blue-black with a white belly and base of the undertail. Female has a gray head, a deep rufous throat and chest, and a cinnamon back and belly. Common in native forest up to 700 meters of elevation, less common in degraded habitats. Voice is a rasping, repeated “zhay-zhay-zhay.”
Black-faced Apalis
Apalis personata
Black-hooded, green-backed apalis with a white spot on the side of the neck. Found in montane forest of the Albertine Rift. Usually in pairs, which will join mixed-species flocks. An active species that prefers the upper half of the forest, though it will sometimes feed lower. Gives a rattling, repeated three-part call, and also a quick trill. Very similar to Masked Apalis, but has a mostly black head and a white dot rather than a stripe on the side of the neck, and is found at higher elevations.
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