Unraveling Mysteries: Understanding the Behavior and Ecology of the Scarlet-and-White Tanager
Fabulous looking, to say the least, the male looks, unlike any other South American bird, glowing in a cloak of fiery red plumage!Meet the Scarlet-and-white tanager
The scarlet-and-white tanager (Chrysothlypis salmoni) male is a highly distinctive bird with a bright scarlet head, throat, and back measuring around 12 cm (4.7 inches) long weighing in at 9.8 to 14.5 grams (0.35 to 0.51 oz). His wings are a darker red, with brown to black flight feathers. There is a scarlet median stripe that runs down his breast and belly, with the remaining area being white. Undertail covers are also scarlet.
Female birds are olive-brown on their back with white underparts, along with dusky wings and a dark brown tail.
Juvenile birds look very much like female adult birds.
This bird is found in and endemic to Colombia and northern Ecuador.
Scarlet and white tanager like to live in and around subtropical, and or, tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forested areas.
These birds feed on fruit and arthropods, the diet thought to comprise of 58% fruit with the remainder being small arthropods.
Little is known about the breeding habits of Scarlet and white tanager, though fledglings have been seen in April and May. It is thought previous young may also help around the nest.
Mainly due to its large range the scarlet-and-white tanager is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List.
