Masked Crimson Tanager
A species of Silver-billed tanagers Scientific name : Ramphocelus nigrogularis Genus : Silver-billed tanagers
Masked Crimson Tanager, A species of Silver-billed tanagers
Botanical name: Ramphocelus nigrogularis
Genus: Silver-billed tanagers
Content
Description General Info
Photo By https://www.flickr.com/photos/jquental , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
The masked crimson tanager (Ramphocelus nigrogularis) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical swamps and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. The masked crimson tanager was first described by German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825. Its species name is derived from the Latin words niger "black", and gularis "throated". It is one of nine species of brightly coloured tanagers of the genus Ramphocelus. Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates its closest relative is the crimson-backed tanager (R. dimidiatus), and the two split around 800,000 years ago. Measuring 18 to 19 cm (7–7.5 in) in length, the adult male has a black face, wings, mantle, belly and tail, and is a bright red elsewhere in its plumage. The bill has a silver sheen. The female resembles the male but has a brownish belly and duller plumage overall, while the juvenile is duller still. It resembles the vermilion tanager (Calochaetes coccineus) but the latter lives at higher altitudes. The masked crimson tanager makes a high-pitched single note variously transcribed as tchlink or "tink", and a simple melody often sung at dawn. The masked crimson tanager is found across Amazonia and is abundant. It prefers to dwell near bodies of water such as lakes, swamps or rivers, generally at altitudes below 600 m (2000 ft). Masked crimson tanagers move about in troops of 10 to 12 birds. The species can form mixed species flocks with the silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo). It is frugivorous (fruit-eating).
Size
17 cm
Feeding Habits
Masked Crimson Tanager primarily consumes fruits and supplements its diet with protein-rich insects like flying termites during breeding cycles. Occasionally, masked Crimson Tanager ingests nectar from already opened flowers, such as Erythrina fusca, aiding in pollination.
Habitat
The masked Crimson Tanager is typically found in habitats with dense vegetation near water sources such as shrubby várzea forest borders and along the margins of oxbow lakes and rivers. They may also inhabit bushy clearings and light-gaps within humid forests. These birds prefer areas not far from watercourses, avoiding very early successional vegetation.
Dite type
Frugivorous
General Info
Behavior
The masked crimson tanager has been speculated to engage in reverse sexual dominance behavior similar to their congener pair, the silver-beaked tanager. The masked crimson tanagers, who belong to the passerine bird order exhibit this behavior similar to that of their cousin. However, there is no observable evidence to support the hypothesis that the masked crimson tanager are among the rare and unexplained phenomenon of reverse sexual dominance. Under normal circumstances, passerine species of birds exemplify a default hierarchy of dominance wherein larger, heavier birds tend to dominate the smaller, lighter birds and males tend to dominate females. Between masked crimson tanagers and the silver-beaked tanager, individuals engage in a form of interference competition, also known as competition by resource defense, when partitioning resource-rich habitats. The masked crimson tanager prefer to inhabit sites close to or around oxbow lakes, a common geographical feature of their native Amazon biome. They demonstrate aggression while defending the more productive areas around the lakes, causing the silver-beaked tanager to occupy the riparian forest. The masked crimson tanagers are competitively superior and dominate most interspecies interactions with their cousin.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By https://www.flickr.com/photos/jquental , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Tanagers Genus
Silver-billed tanagers Species
Masked Crimson Tanager