Blue-capped tangerine

Blue-capped tangerine
	Blue-capped tangar ( Tangara cyanocephala )
Systematics
Order :	Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination :	Songbirds (passeri)
Family :	Tangaren (Thraupidae)
Subfamily :	Thraupinae
Genre :	Schillertangaren ( Tangara )
Type :	Blue-capped tangerine
Scientific name
	Tangara cyanocephala
	( Statius Müller , 1776)

The blue-capped tangar ( Tangara cyanocephala ) is a species of bird from the family of the tangar (Thraupidae) that occurs in South America .

features

The blue-cap tangar reaches a body length of about 13 centimeters and a weight of 16.0 to 21.6 grams. The birds are very brightly colored and show the following plumage colors:

Skull and throat: blue
Neck: red
Chest, belly, rump , control feathers and arm swing : green
Wings of the hand : Green with black tips
Eye ring: turquoise
Tips of the large arm rugs: orange
Beak base and small and medium arm covers : black.

The sexes hardly differ in color. The females show slightly paler colors. Due to the very distinctive color pattern, the birds are unmistakable. Young birds are colored almost monochrome green.

Distribution, subspecies and habitat

In addition to the in the southeast of Brazil and Paraguay , as well as in the northeast of Argentina occurring nominate Tangara cyanocephala cyanocephala two more subspecies known:

Tangara cyanocephala cearensis Cory , 1916 - in Ceará .
Tangara cyanocephala coralina ( Berlepsch , 1903) - in Pernambuco and in the north of Bahia .

Blue-capped tangars prefer to inhabit forests and forest edges at altitudes of up to 1000 meters or more. Sometimes they also populate city parks.

Way of life

The birds feed primarily on fruits, and to a lesser extent on insects (Insecta). They prefer to stay in small groups in higher regions of trees, also in company with other species of Tangaren. Information on breeding behavior is currently only available from captive birds. The cup-shaped nest is made primarily from dried grass, in which three eggs are laid. These are whitish in color and have some brownish spots. Only the female breeds. The incubation period is 12 to 13 days. Nestlings fly out after 15 days, but are provided with food by both parents for another three and a half weeks.

Hazard and protection

The blue-capped tangar, which used to be found in large contiguous areas but is now to be found in separate individual areas, is classified by the IUCN as a " Least Concern ".

Individual evidence

↑ Hilty, S. (2017 Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala)). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, DA & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (Retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/61681 on February 11, 2017).
^ IUCN Red List

literature

Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, David A. Christie: Handbook of the Birds of the World, Tanagers to New World Blackbirds. Volume 16, Lynx Edicions, 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-78-1 .

Web links

Commons : Blue-capped Tangare ( Tangara cyanocephala ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

neotropical.birds - Neotropical Birds
itis.gov - ITIS Report
xeno-canto - spread

[1] Hilty, S. (2017 Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala)). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, DA & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (Retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/61681 on February 11, 2017).

[2] IUCN Red List