Spotted Tanager
Ixothraupis punctata
Small, strongly-marked tanager. It inhabits Andean cloud forest in the western part of its range, and lowland and foothill forest elsewhere. Plumage is greenish overall, paler on head and underparts, and profusely marked with black spots and chevrons. Spots on female and immature are duller. Separated from other similar tanagers by lack of yellow on underparts, and by pale grayish face and throat. Generally stays high in the trees, where it is a common member of mixed-species flocks.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the spotted tanager in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in the West Indies. He used the French name Le tangara verd piqueté des Indes and the Latin name Tangara viridis indica punctulata. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the spotted tanager. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Tanagra punctata and cited Brisson's work. The specific name punctata is Latin for "spotted". The spotted tanager is now placed in the genus Ixothraupis.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Ixothraupis punctata
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Ixothraupis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Widespread and abundant in cities, neighborhoods and farms. Avoids dense woods. Flocks cluster in dense bushes, bustling around and chattering to one another. Males have smart black bibs, bright rufous napes, and stunningly patterned wings with brilliant buffs and browns. Underparts are pale pearly-gray. Females are plain brown with cute face and lighter eyebrow. Native to Eurasia; introduced to much of the rest of the world.
Red-chested Flufftail
Sarothrura rufa
Small marsh-dwelling rail. Shy and elusive bird that is unlikely to be seen unless expressly looking for it. Male has a rufous hood and black body with white streaks. Female plain and brown. Found in a variety of thickly-vegetated wetlands. Calls are given in series, and include a repeated, rising “huuua”, a deep “chwa-ho”, and a whining “chee-ya”. Similar to Streaky-breasted Flufftail, but male has a darker belly, and female has pale spots rather than scallops on the back.
Yellow-browed Sparrow
Ammodramus aurifrons
Small, short-tailed sparrow with a yellow patch in front of the eye. Found in grassy edges of rivers, as well as in grassy patches in urban and agricultural areas. Hops and scurries along the ground between patches of grass. Similar to Grassland Sparrow, but Yellow-browed Sparrow is lighter tan with more yellow in the face. Listen for its high, buzzy song, “tic tic ZEEEE tic ZEEEE,” often sung from an exposed perch.
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