Opal-rumped Tanager
Tangara velia
Common tanager, found in a variety of forest habitats. Usually seen from below, in which case it is best identified by uniform dark underparts with rufous lower belly and undertail coverts, and active behavior. The shining white rump can be seen from most angles on perched birds, even when high overhead. Found in tall rainforest, shorter-stature forests on sandy soils, and in disturbed areas. Groups move rapidly through treetops, usually with other species of small tanagers, feeding on fruit. Calls are indistinct chips, often given in rapid series in flight.
Taxonomy
In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the opal-rumped tanager in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "Red-belly'd Blue-bird" ". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen owned by the Duke of Richmond that had been collected in Suriname. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the opal-rumped tanager with the wagtails in the genus Motacilla. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Motacilla velia and cited Edwards' work. Linnaeus provided no explanation for the specific epithet; it is perhaps a misprint for the Ancient Greek elea, a small bird mentioned by Aristotle. The bay-headed tanager is now placed in the genus Tangara that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The type locality is Suriname.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Tangara velia
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Tangara
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Manus Monarch
Symposiachrus infelix
A medium-sized pied monarch with a mostly black head and chest and a large white ear patch. Belly white. Upperparts and wings black with a large white wing patch. Tail black with white outer feathers. On outer islands, has white tail tipped black. Found in most habitats with trees. Voice includes a series of high-pitched whistles and chattering scolding notes.
Plum-throated Cotinga
Cotinga maynana
Bright blue cotinga of lowland rainforest. Males are pure sky blue, with a purple throat and light eye; females are buffy tan with faint scalloping. Perches in the forest canopy, and it can sometimes be easier to find them when you have a clear view of the canopy, like from a canopy tower, around the edges of a forest clearing, or from a bluff overlooking the canopy. Males are distinguished from the similar Spangled Cotinga by deeper blue plumages, lack of fine dark head streaking, and light yellow eye; females warmer brown than female Spangled Cotinga, which are a colder gray, and often have a pale eye like the male.
White-chinned Jacamar
Galbula tombacea
Similar to many other species of jacamar: mostly glittering emerald-green with a rufous belly, long tail, and long pointed bill. Sexes are similar; female has a paler belly. Found in northwestern Amazonia, where pairs occur in the lower to mid-levels of mature lowland forest, often around water. Namesake white chin is not super conspicuous but usually visible. Also note brownish crown. Most similar to Bluish-fronted Jacamar, but apparently no range overlap.
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