- Thlypopsis pectoralis
Identification
A small, greyish tanager with a rufous head and chest.
- Dark orange-rufous head to upper breast
- Olive-grey to brownish-grey upperparts and tail
- Greyish-brown sides and flanks contrasting with upper breast
- White centre of breast to belly
Females are similar but they have a paler throat. Immatures are duller than adults.
Similar species
Distinguished from Rufous-chested Tanager by brownish and not orange-rufous sides and flanks.
Distribution
South America: endemic to the Andes of central Peru (Huánuco, Pasco and Junín).
An uncommon restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
May form a superspecies with Rufous-chested Tanager and has been considered conspecific with it.
Habitat
High-altitude shrubland. Mainly in dry to semi-arid zones in semi-open intermontane valleys.
Occurs at 2500 to 3200m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on tiny insects. Takes also caterpillars and small moths.
Usually seen in pairs, often together with Rufous-chested Tanager.
Breeding
Juveniles recorded in December, February and March. No other information about breeding.
Movements
A resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. 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. (2025) Brown-flanked Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-flanked_Tanager
