Ramphocelus

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Ramphocelus
Ramphocelus bresilius04.jpg
Brazilian tanager (Ramphocelus bresilius)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Ramphocelus
Desmarest, 1805
Type species
Tanagra bresilia
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

See species list

Ramphocelus is a Neotropical genus of birds of the tanager family. They have enlarged shiny whitish or bluish-grey lower mandibles, which are pointed upwards in display. However, this is greatly reduced in the females of most species. Males are black and red, orange or yellow, while females resemble a duller version of the males, or are brownish or greyish combined with dull red, orange or yellowish.

Contents

Ramphocelus tanagers are found in semi-open areas. The nest is a cup built by the female of plant materials such as moss, rootlets, and strips of large leaves like banana or Heliconia , and is often in a fairly open site in a tree. The female usually lays pale blue eggs, with grey, brown or lavender spots, and the young stay in the nest for only about 12 days.

The songs of this genus are repetitions of rich one- or two-syllable whistles.

Ramphocelus tanagers hunt at forest edges or in second growth, taking insects in flight or picking them from leaves.

Taxonomy

The genus Ramphocelus was introduced by the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1805. [1] The name combines the Ancient Greek words rhamphos "bill" and koilos "concave". [2] The type species was designated as the Brazilian tanager by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855. [3] [4]

The other species form two superspecies. One includes crimson-backed, Huallaga, silver-beaked and Brazilian tanagers, and the other comprises Passerini's, Cherrie's and flame-rumped tanagers.

The subspecies icteronotus of the flame-rumped tanager is sometimes considered a separate species, and the lemon-rumped tanager, R. icteronotus, and Passerini's and Cherrie's tanager were formerly lumped as scarlet-rumped tanager, R. passerinii (a treatment some authorities still prefer).

Species in taxonomic order

The genus contains nine species: [5]

Genus Ramphocelus Desmarest, 1805 – nine species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Crimson-collared tanager

Ramphocelus sanguinolentus.jpg

Ramphocelus sanguinolentus
(Lesson, 1831)
southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca in Mexico through the Atlantic slope of Central America,western Panama
Ramphocelus sanguinolentus map.svg
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 LC 


Masked crimson tanager

Masked Crimson Tanager - Manu NP - Peru 8953 (22856151717).jpg
Male
Ramphocelus nigrogularis - Masked Crimson Tanager (female), Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas, Brazil.jpg
Female

Ramphocelus nigrogularis
(Spix, 1825)
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Ramphocelus nigrogularis map.svg
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Crimson-backed tanager

Crimson-backed Tanager - Panama H8O8413 (22954596730).jpg
Male
Crimson-backed tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus isthmicus) female.jpg
Female

Ramphocelus dimidiatus
Lafresnaye, 1837
Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela, and introduced to French Polynesia
Ramphocelus dimidiatus map.svg
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Huallaga tanager

Ramphocelus melanogaster - Black-bellied Tanager 2.jpg

Ramphocelus melanogaster
(Swainson, 1838)
Peru
Ramphocelus melanogaster map.svg
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Silver-beaked tanager

Ramphocelus carbo -Piraju, Sao Paulo, Brazil -male-8.jpg
Male
Ramphocelus carbo-2009-02-08.jpg
Female

Ramphocelus carbo
(Pallas, 1764)
South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, Perú and on Trinidad
Ramphocelus carbo map.svg
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Brazilian tanager

Ramphocelus bresilius03.jpg
Male
Ramphocelus bresilius -Registro, Sao Paulo, Brazil -female-8.jpg
Female

Ramphocelus bresilia
(Linnaeus, 1766)
eastern Brazil and far northeastern Argentina
Ramphocelus bresilius map.svg
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Scarlet-rumped tanager

Passerini's Tanager - Sarapiqui - Costa Rica S4E0838 (26712310255).jpg
Male
Passerinis tanager female.jpg
Female

Ramphocelus passerinii
(Bonaparte, 1831)
Caribbean lowlands from southern Mexico to western Panama
Ramphocelus passerinii map.svg
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Flame-rumped tanager

Flame-rumped Tanager - Colombia S4E8786 (22621894474).jpg
Male
Flame-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus flammigerus).jpg
Female

Ramphocelus flammigerus
(Jardine & Selby, 1833)
Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
Ramphocelus flammigerus map.svg
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Lemon-rumped tanager

Lemon-rumped Tanager - Panama H8O0413 (22623317413).jpg
Male
Ramphocelus flammigerus icteronotus Toche enjalmado Lemon-rumped Tanager (female) (7468452850).jpg
Female

Ramphocelus icteronotus
Bonaparte, 1838
Panama to Ecuador
Ramphocelus icteronotus map.svg
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 LC 


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest</span> French zoologist (1784–1838)

Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest was a French zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and the father of Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest.

<i>Euphonia</i> Genus of birds

Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver-beaked tanager</span> Species of bird

The silver-beaked tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, Peru and on Trinidad. It is common and conspicuous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violaceous euphonia</span> Species of bird

The violaceous euphonia is a small passerine bird in the true finch family Fringillidae. It is widely distributed in eastern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-rumped cacique</span> Species of bird

The yellow-rumped cacique is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in much of northern South America from Panama and Trinidad south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil. However, they have been sighted as far north as Nayarit state in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-capped cardinal</span> Species of bird

The red-capped cardinal is a small species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimson-collared tanager</span> Species of bird

The crimson-collared tanager is a rather small Middle American songbird. It was first described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, its specific epithet from the Latin adjective sanguinolentus, "bloodied", referring to its red plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver-throated tanager</span> Species of bird from South America

The silver-throated tanager is a species of passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and northeastern Peru. It inhabits mossy forests, montane evergreen forests, tropical lowland evergreen forests and forest edges, along with tall secondary forests and disturbed habitat with remnant trees and forest. It is 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long and weighs 22 grams (0.78 oz) on average, and shows slight sexual dimorphism, with duller female plumage. Adult males are mainly bright yellow, with a silvery-white throat bordered above with a black stripe on the cheeks, black streaking on the back, and green edges to the wings and tail. Juveniles are duller and greener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet-rumped tanager</span> Species of bird

The scarlet-rumped tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in the Caribbean lowlands from southern Mexico to western Panama. This species was formerly known as the scarlet-rumped tanager, but was renamed to Passerini's Tanager after Carlo Passerini, a professor at the Museum of Zoology of the University of Florence, when the distinctive form found on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama was reclassified as a separate species, the Cherrie's tanager, Ramphocelus costaricensis. While most authorities had accepted this split, there were notable exceptions. It was renamed back to the scarlet-rumped tanager in 2018 when Cherrie's Tanager was lumped back into the species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherrie's tanager</span> Species of bird

Cherrie's tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. This bird was formerly known as the scarlet-rumped tanager, but was split as a separate species from the Caribbean form, which was itself renamed as Passerini's tanager, Ramphocelus passerinii. While most authorities had accepted this split, there were notable exceptions. It was lumped back into the Scarlet-rumped Tanager in 2018.

<i>Chlorophonia</i> Genus of birds

Chlorophonia is a genus of finches in the family Fringillidae. The Chlorophonias are endemic to the Neotropics. They are small, mostly bright green birds that inhabit humid forests and nearby habitats, especially in highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-faced grassquit</span> Species of bird

The yellow-faced grassquit is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus Tiaris. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

<i>Tangara</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Tangara is a large genus of birds of the tanager family. It includes 27 species. All are from the Neotropics, and while most are fairly widespread, some have small distributions and are threatened. They are fairly small, ranging in size from 11.5–15 centimetres (4.5–5.9 in). This genus includes some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spadebill</span> Genus of birds

The spadebills are a genus, Platyrinchus, of Central and South American passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. They have broad, flat, triangular bills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad euphonia</span> Species of bird

The Trinidad euphonia is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae. It is common in northern Colombia and northern Venezuela and uncommon to rare on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Like all euphonias, it is small, stocky, and short-tailed; unlike some, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is glossy blue-black on the head, back, throat, and upper breast, with a bright yellow forehead and crown, and bright yellow underparts. The female is olive-green above and yellow-olive below, with a grayer patch running down the center of her breast and abdomen, and bright yellow undertail coverts. Its calls are high-pitched, plaintive whistles: the two most common are a single-pitched, double-noted "pee pee" or "tee dee", or a rising, double-noted "puwee", "cooleee" or "duu dee". Its song is a short, jumbled mix of musical and nonmusical notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian tanager</span> Species of bird

The Brazilian tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil and far northeastern Argentina, occurring in the coastal region from Paraíba and southwards to Santa Catarina and Misiones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimson-backed tanager</span> Species of bird

The crimson-backed tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela, and introduced to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. A nickname in Panama is sangre de toro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame-crested tanager</span> Species of bird

The flame-crested tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Ten subspecies are currently recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald tanager</span> Species of bird from South America

The emerald tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Described by the English ornithologists PL Sclater and Osbert Salvin in 1869, it is a medium-sized species that has a length of 10.6–13 cm (4.2–5.1 in) and a mass of 18–20.5 g (0.63–0.72 oz). It can be identified by its bright green plumage, with black streaking on the back and wings, and a black auricular patch and beak. It also has yellow on the crown and rump. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism, with the females being duller and having yellow-green in place of yellow on the head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame-faced tanager</span> Species of bird from South America

The flame-faced tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to South America and is found in the eastern Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is a distinctive-looking species with black and opalescent green upperparts, opalescent green and buff underparts, and a deep red and yellow face. The subspecies lunigera lacks the deep red on the face, which is replaced with orangish-red.

References

  1. Desmarest, Anselme Gaëtan (1805). Histoire naturelle des Tangaras, des Manakins et des Todiers (in French). Paris: Imprimarie de H. Perronneau. Plate 28 text.
  2. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 330. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 148.
  4. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 310.
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Tanagers and allies". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 April 2018.

Sources