Please help ID two tanager-like birds in Ecuador (1 Viewer)

[damonacole]

Greetings. Very new to birding, and new to this forum.

Hoping you all can help ID a couple of birds I've seen in Ecuador recently. Unfortunately, I don't have photos--just clear and insistent memories.

The two look similar to a blue-necked tanager (image attached), but without the unmistakable coloring on the wings. Also neither had the black mask on the eyes. Just black eyes and black beak.

FWIW, they were both alone, and not flitting about much as the tanagers I know seem to do.

(1) June 30, at "Mirador Rio Blanco" in Los Bancos (near Mindo).
This bird had a medium-dark green head, and dark-blue or black body. The green on the head came down to a uniform level around the shoulders. The green was slightly brilliant, not muted.

(2) August 8, near San Francisco de Borja, on the Eastern side of the Andes, 1900 meters, rain-forest. This bird had a distinctly iridescent light-blue head, with the blue also coming down to a uniform level at the shoulders. And dark-blue or black body.

I couldn't find such birds in "Birds of Ecuador," which is my only resource at the moment.

Any help would be very encouraging.

Thanks!

 

[njlarsen]

What was the color of the breast in your birds? Have you looked at the Dacnis species?

Niels

 

[damonacole]

Ah, was expecting to get an email if someone replied. Thanks for the question and tip, Niels.

The body, and the breast, was dark blue or black. I will check out the Dacnis, as you suggest. Would love to know and have seen a Dacnis! (But am remaining calm and objective, I hope.)

 

[damonacole]

No dice on the Dacnis species.

 

[lmans66]

I wonder if a hybrid of the blue-necked and ?..... I have visited Ecuador often and while I can't say I have seen any mystery bird like that, I do know that sometimes you come up to a bird that you just can'd ID due to patterns or colors. Also,....I have found that the difference in bird life between the areas surrounding Ecuador (such as Peru or Columbia etc) have vastly different birds in their eco-system....so it might be helpful to get a Birds of Peru or Columbia and see what is found. I never did that, but well worth it from my thinking as birds just might be a bit lost....

 

[THE_FERN]

I couldn't think of anything obvious from the description, except perhaps blue-necked in a different plumage stage (Juv, female or in moult). I guess the usual approach in these situations is to look up the ebird hotspot list for the location and systematically work through the species until you've whittled out down to a core of possibilities. And then go through the associated Macaulay Library images and other resources until you find the closest match

 

[damonacole]

Thanks for your suggestions. The blue-necked bird must have been a blue-necked tanager, as Imans66 suggested. No idea about the green-hooded one.

But I expect to see them again someday, hopefully armed with a good camera.