Vassori Tangare

Vassori Tangare
Vassori Tangare
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes) Subordination : Songbirds (passeri) Family : Tangaren (Thraupidae) Subfamily : Thraupinae Genre : Schillertangaren ( Tangara ) Type : Vassori Tangare
Scientific name
Tangara vassorii
( Boissonneau , 1840)

The Vassori Tangare ( Tangara vassorii ) is a species of bird from the family of the Tangaren (Thraupidae). The species has a large range that includes the South American countries Venezuela , Colombia , Ecuador , Peru and Bolivia . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The Vassori tangare reaches a body length of about 13 centimeters. The male is mainly cobalt blue . A narrow mask, the wings and tail are black. The lower wing coverts and wing strips are also cobalt blue. The female is a little more dull in color.

distribution and habitat

The species occurs relatively often on moist forest edges and in overgrown grasslands at altitudes between 1800 and 3500 meters. They can also be found in the Krummholzzone and in secondary vegetation dominated by black -mouthed plants.

behavior

The species is usually in pairs and groups of up to six birds. It can often be seen with other flocks of birds. It is not the congeners of the Schillertangaren ( Tangara ), but species from the genera mountain tangars ( Anisognathus ), hooked beaks ( Diglossa ) or pointed beaks ( Conirostrum ) with which one sees the Vassori tangar together. She is a very active bird that is always on the move. The stereotypical search for insects is less common with her. Mostly it hops from branch to branch in search of fruit. It can happen that she looks upside down for food on leaves and twigs. The typical food is mostly fruits and less often insects.

Subspecies

Three subspecies have been described, which differ mainly in their coloration and distribution area:

• Tangara vassorii vassorii (Boissonneau 1840) - nominate form , occurs in Venezuela in the Andes Táchiras to Mérida and to the northeast of Trujillo . In Colombia it occurs on all three slopes of the Andes. In the Pacific area, the occurrence extends in the north to the Departamento de Antioquia and Cauca . In Ecuador it is also found on both sides of the Andes slopes. In Peru it is only present on the eastern slopes in the northeast of the country.
• Tangara vassorii atrocoerulea ( Tschudi 1844) - comes more southerly than T. v. branickii from Auquimarca to Santo Domingo in Bolivia.
• Tangara vassorii branickii ( Taczanowski 1882) - This subspecies has a silver skull. Occurs in the central Amazon to the south of La Libertad .

• 

  Tangara vassorii vassorii painted by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre

• 

  Tangara vassorii branickii painted by Joseph Smit

Naming

Auguste Boissonneau originally described this shimmering tangar as Tanagra (Euphone?) Vassorii . He dedicated the species to one of his best friends. The illustration for the first description was then published in the Magasin de Zoologie . The picture came from the French artist Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (1768–1849), the engraving was by Christophe Annedouche (1803–1866) and the printing was done by N. Rémond.

literature

• Steven L. Hilty , William L. Brown: A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, 1986, ISBN 978-0691083728 , pp. 616f.
• Thomas Schulenberg , Douglas F. Stotz , Daniel F. Lane: Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-691-04915-1 , p. 564.
• Robert S. Ridgely , Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide. Volume 1, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8720-0 , p. 728.
• Robert S. Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide. Volume 2, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7 , p. 636.
• Steven L. Hilty, John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor : Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0691092508 , p. 771.
• Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee, William H. Phelps , Guy Tudor: A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, 1992, p. 337, ISBN 978-0691082059 .

Web links

Commons : Vassori-Tangare ( Tangara vassorii )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tangara vassorii inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
• BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Blue-and-black Tanager ( Tangara vassorii ) . Retrieved April 19, 2012.
• Videos, photos and sound recordings of Blue-and-black Tanager (Tangara vassorii) in the Internet Bird Collection
• Vassoritangare ( Tangara vassorii ) at Avibase; Retrieved April 19, 2012.
• Tangara vassorii in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved April 19, 2012.
• xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Blue-and-black Tanager ( Tangara vassorii )
• Mangoverde Blue-and-black Tanager Tangara vassorii Pictures

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archives for Natural History p. 285 Procnopis atrocoerulea (Latin.)
2. ^ Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1882, p. 10 Diva branickii (French)
3. ^ Revue zoologique par la Société cuviérienne 1840 p. 4 Oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus de Santa-Fé de Bogota Tanagra (Euphone?) Vassorii (French)
4. ^ Magasin de Zoologie, d'anatomie comparee et de palaeonthologie, reoueh 1841 Tanagra Vassorii