Magpie Tanager - BirdForum Opus

Photo by edenwatcher
Copalinga Lodge, Ecuador, March 2006

Cissopis leverianus

Identification

Photo by Francisco Paludo
Parque Estadual Mata dos Godoy, Londrina, Brazil, April 2017

A large, long-tailed Tanager. Length 25-26; 9¾-10¼ in (with male C.l. major up to 29 cm; 11½ in). Weight 69-76 g.

• Glossy blue-black head to upper back, neck, throat and chest to point on mid-breast, forming shaggy hood
• White middle back, scapulars, rump and uppertail-coverts
• Black-and-white long and strongly graduated tail
• Rest of wing black with some white edges
• White underparts below central breast
• Yellow eye
• Short and thick black bill
• Strong, blackish legs

Sexes similar, immatures resemble adults.

Distribution

South America: found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia.
A widespread and fairly common species.

Taxonomy

The second part of the scientific name has been changed from leveriana to leverianus

Subspecies

Two subspecies recognized¹:

• C. l. leverianus from eastern Colombia to southeast Venezuela, Guianas, northern Bolivia and Amazonian Brazil
• C. l. major from Paraguay to southeast Brazil and adjacent northeast Argentina

Habitat

River floodplains and forest edges among grass and shrubs.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet consists of seeds, fruits and arthropods. They are also been observed eating green buds.
Usually seen in pairs or family groups. Not found in mixed-species flocks but often associates with Black-throated Grosbeak.

Breeding

They construct a cup shaped nest, lined with grass, leaves or other plant materials, with is placed on a branch. The clutch consists of 2 eggs with reddish-brown spots.

Movements

A resident species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. 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

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Magpie Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Magpie_Tanager

External Links

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