- Sericossypha albocristata
Identification
23-24cm. A large, distinctive, icterid-like Tanager.
- Mainly glossy blue-black plumage
- Plush-like white feathering on lores and crown
- Rich crimson throat and chest
- Stout, blackish bill
Sexes similar. Females have a darker and less conspicuous bib than males. Immatures lack the bib.
Distribution
Locally in Andes of Colombia and western Venezuela to south-eastern Peru.
Uncommon to locally fairly common. Declining due to deforestation and fragmentation of habitat.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species1.
Restall2 has a note describing uncertainties in the placement of this species. However, molecular-genetic data support the placement in the current family and show that Nemosia is probably a sister-taxon.
Habitat
Humid forests, edges, second growth, and fields.
1600 - 3200m in Colombia, ca. 1750 - 3000m in Ecuador and 1700 - 2800m in Peru.
Behaviour
The diet includes fruits, seeds, sawflies, wasps, bees, ants and beetles.
Forages and travels in groups of 4 to 8 (occasionally more) birds, sometimes in mixed-species flocks or loosel associated with jays.
One Birdforum member describes these as behaving and sounding more like jays.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- 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
- Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-capped Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-capped_Tanager
