Swallow tanager

Last updated

Swallow tanager
Swallow Tanager (Tersina viridis)..jpg
Female
Tersina viridis -Parana, Brazil -male-8.jpg
Male in Paraná, Brazil
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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)
Tersina viridis map.svg

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.

Contents

Taxonomy

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]

Description

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]

Related Research Articles

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Saltator</i> Genus of birds

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.

<i>Tachyphonus</i> Genus of birds

Tachyphonus is a genus of birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

The plushcap is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and it is the only member of the genus Catamblyrhynchus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-masked finch</span> Species of bird

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.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed reed finch</span> Species of bird

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Saltatricula</i> Genus of birds

Saltatricula is a genus of South American seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

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

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.

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

The rusty-collared seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.

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

The burnished-buff tanager, also known as the rufous-crowned tanager, is a common South American species of bird in the family Thraupidae.

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

The blue-and-yellow tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Tersina viridis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22723018A94799455. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22723018A94799455.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm (1811). Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 229.
  3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 409.
  4. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1819). Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc (in French). Vol. 33. Paris: Deterville. p. 401. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.20211.
  5. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 382, 403. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. Burns, K.J.; Shultz, A.J.; Title, P.O.; Mason, N.A.; Barker, F.K.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75: 41–77. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006. PMID   24583021.
  8. 1 2 Ridgely, Robert S.; Tudor, Guy (2009). Birds of South America: Passerines. Helm Field Guides. London: Christopher Helm. p. 600. ISBN   978-1-408-11342-4.