Alternative name: Siara Tanager
- Stilpnia phillipsi
Tangara phillipsi
Identification
13 cm.
Male
- Black crown to hindneck, extending as collar from behind ear-coverts to chest, surrounding blue-green throat
- Shining greenish-blue nape, mantle, back and rump
- Black tail, outer feathers edged and tinged greyish-blue
- Black upperwing-coverts and flight-feathers, slate-blue edged
- Mostly black central area of breast and belly, with broad area of opalescent blue (looking green depending on light) across sides and flanks
- Bluish-grey undertail-coverts
- White underwing-coverts
Female
- Dusky green top of head
- Shining pale green upperparts, including uppertail-coverts
- Mainly greenish upperwing-coverts with dusky bases
- Dusky wings with blue-green and green edges of feathers
- Dull green to olive-green tail
- Duller underparts than male, dull glaucous green throat, side of neck and chest with dusky feather bases and paler tips, dull greenish-grey to grey breast, centre of belly and undertail-coverts
Juveniles undescribed.
Similar species
Differs from Black-capped Tanager in having black of crown connecting to black central lower underparts. Also central underparts are black and not blue-grey. Females are very similar, female Sira Tanager has greyish breast and belly and throat feathers less bifurcated and more pointed than female Black-capped Tanager.
Distribution
Endemic to the Cerros del Sira in Peru.
A locally fairly common to common restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Probably forms a superspecies with Black-capped Tanager and is sometimes even considered conspecific.
This species used to be placed in genus Tangara.
Habitat
Found in the canopy and edges of tall, mossy, montane wet forest on isolated outlying ridges.
Occurs at 1300 to 1570 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Not well known. Feeds on fruits and insects.
Forages often in mixed-species flocks with other tanagers and other birds.
Breeding
No information.
Movements
A resident species. Some seasonal elevational movements are possible.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2011. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553781
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sira Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sira_Tanager
