Swallow tanager | |
---|---|
Female | |
Male in Paraná, Brazil | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Thraupidae |
Genus: | Tersina Vieillot, 1819 |
Species: | T. viridis |
Binomial name | |
Tersina viridis (Illiger, 1811) | |
The swallow tanager (Tersina viridis) is a species of Neotropic bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Tersina. It is found widely throughout South America, from eastern Panama to far northern Argentina. The species is sexually dimorphic: the female is a yellow-green and the male a turquoise blue with a small deep black face and upper throat patch.
The swallow tanager was formally described in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger under the binomial name Hirundo viridis. [2] The type locality is eastern Brazil. [3] The species is now the only member of the genus Tersina that was introduced in 1819 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. [4] [5] The genus name is from the French Tersine, an unidentified bird described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The specific epithet viridis is the Latin for "green". [6] A molecular phylogenetic study of the tanager family published in 2014 found that the swallow tanager is sister to the honeycreepers in the genus Cyanerpes . [7]
Three subspecies are recognised: [5]
The swallow tanager is 14.5–15 cm (5.7–5.9 in) in length with a broad flat bill. This bird is strongly sexually dimorphic. The male is bright turquoise blue with a black face and throat. The turquoise flanks have black barring and the lower belly is white. The female is bright green with dusky-olive barring on the flanks. She lacks the black face mask. [8] They are gregarious but do not associate with other species. They mainly eat fruit but they will also sally after insects from an exposed perch. The swallow tanagers are unique among tanagers in that they will sometimes dig a hole in a bank for a nest. [8]
The blue-black grassquit is a small Neotropical bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Volatinia. It is a common and widespread bird that breeds from southern Mexico through Central America, and South America as far as northern Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay, and in Trinidad and Tobago. A male was also observed in Graham County, Arizona on July 15 and July 17, 2023.
The red-crowned ant tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird from tropical America. The genus Habia was long placed with the tanagers (Thraupidae), but it is actually closer to the cardinals (Cardinalidae). Consequently, it can be argued that referring to the members of this genus as ant-tanagers is misleading, but no other common name has gained usage.
Saltator is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are found in Central and South America. They have thick bills, relatively long tails and strong legs and feet. Before the introduction of molecular genetic methods in the 21st century these species were placed in the cardinal family Cardinalidae.
Tachyphonus is a genus of birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.
The black-goggled tanager is a species of bird in the family, Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Trichothraupis. It is found at low levels in forest and woodland in a large part of eastern and southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina, with a disjunct population along the East Andean slope in Peru, Bolivia and far north-western Argentina. While generally common and widespread, and consequently considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International and IUCN, the population associated with the Andes is relatively local and uncommon.
The chestnut-headed tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae this is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, eastern Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina. It was formerly the only member of the genus Pyrrhocoma but is now placed in Thlypopsis.
The fawn-breasted tanager is a species of tanager with a blue head and yellow breast. It occurs in the Andes of northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, as well as in the highlands of northeastern Argentina, south Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The orange-throated tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae that is found very locally in humid forests around the Ecuador-Peru border. As a species it is considered threatened. The orange-throated tanager is the only member of the genus Wetmorethraupis, named after the ornithologist Alexander Wetmore. It is closely related to members of the genus Bangsia.
The black-masked finch is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Coryphaspiza. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The blue-backed tanager is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Cyanicterus.
The long-tailed reed finch is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of its genus Donacospiza.
The grey-headed tanager is a widely distributed species of small Neotropical bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Eucometis.
The yellow cardinal is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of its genus, Gubernatrix. It is very rare and can only be found in South America.
The yellow-backed tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname; also extreme eastern Panama in Central America. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest.
Saltatricula is a genus of South American seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.
The hooded tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The sooty tyrannulet is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is small, usually weighing 9 grams with a length of 12 centimeters, and has gray or brownish-grey feathers with black tail feathers. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay; also southern Paraguay. A small extension of its range is in southeastern Bolivia.
The rusty-collared seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.
The burnished-buff tanager, also known as the rufous-crowned tanager, is a common South American species of bird in the family Thraupidae.
The blue-and-yellow tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae.