- Sericossypha albocristata
Identification
23-24cm (9-9½ in). 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
Photo by Stanley Jones
Belaúnde Terry Highway, Amazonas, Abra Patrica Reserve, Peru, January 2017
Humid forests, edges, second growth, and fields.
1600 - 3200m in Colombia, ca. 1750 - 3000m in Ecuador and 1700 - 2800m in Peru.
Behaviour
One Birdforum member describes these as behaving and sounding more like jays.
Diet
Their diet consists of 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 loosely associated with jays.
References
- 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/
- 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 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-capped_Tanager
