Scarlet-browed Tanager

About the Scarlet-browed Tanager

The scarlet-browed tanager (Heterospingus xanthopygius) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. The scarlet-browed tanager was formally described in 1855 with the binomial Tachyphonus xanthopygius. It now shares the genus Heterospingus with the sulphur-rumped tanager (H. rubrifrons). Some twentieth century authors treated them as conspecific but they are significantly different in morphology and genetics. They form a superspecies.

The scarlet-browed tanager has two subspecies, the nominate H. x. xanthopygius (Sclater, PL, 1855) and H. x. berliozi (Wetmore, 1966). The scarlet-browed tanager is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long; two males weighed 38 and 39.5 g (1.3 and 1.4 oz). It is a large tanager with a heavy bill that has a slight hook at the tip. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly sooty black. They have a supercilium that begins thinly with white and broadens to scarlet; the scarlet forms a tuft behind the eye. They have a bright yellow rump, bright yellow lesser upperwing coverts that are usually hidden, a slate... Wikipedia →