Sulphur-rumped Tanager

About the Sulphur-rumped Tanager

The sulphur-rumped tanager (Heterospingus rubrifrons) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The sulphur-rumped tanager was formally described in 1865 with the binomial Tachyphonus rubrifrons. In 1898 Robert Ridgway erected genus Heterospingus with the sulphur-rumped tanager as the type species. The sulphur-rumped tanager shares the genus with the scarlet-browed tanager (H. xanthopygius). Some twentieth century authors treated them as conspecific but they are significantly different in morphology and genetics. They form a superspecies.

The sulphur-rumped tanager is monotypic. The sulphur-rumped tanager is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs 36 to 40 g (1.3 to 1.4 oz). It is a large tanager with a heavy bill that has a slight hook at the tip. The species is slightly sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a dark leaden gray head, neck, and back, a yellow rump, and olive-green uppertail coverts. Their wings and tail are dusky. Their throat and underparts are mostly a paler gray than the upperparts with white pectoral tufts and olive-green undertail coverts. Adult females are... Wikipedia →