dendroica: Bird of the Week: Green-headed Tanager Like most…
Bird of the Week: Green-headed Tanager
Like most tanagers, including Western Tanager, our Bird of the Week is an animated work of art. Featuring swaths of turquoise, yellow-orange, lime green, violet, and black, the male Green-headed Tanager brightens forests as well as orchards and parks.
Although this tanager is widely distributed within its Atlantic Forest range, this habitat is threatened by deforestation, and only about eight percent of the original habitat remains. Green-headed Tanagers share the Atlantic Forest with the critically endangered Stresemann’s Bristlefront, threatened Banded Cotinga, and more common Brazilian Tanager.
While some tanagers are skilled vocalists, the Green-headed Tanager simply chirps….
Green-headed Tanagers forage through the canopy in small flocks, either on their own or in association with a larger mixed-species flock. Their diet is a mixture of fruits and insects, taken as the bird actively moves through the upper canopy.
Like others in its genus, a breeding pair is assisted by “helpers,” probably young from previous broods. Females resemble males but are duller-colored.
ABC and our partner REGUA are working to preserve Atlantic Forest habitat at the Guapi Assu Reserve in southeast Brazil, where visitors can see the Green-headed Tanager and many other endemic species.
(via American Bird Conservancy)
Note that the Green-headed Tanager and the Western Tanager mentioned in the first line are in separate bird families. Green-headed Tanager is one of the true tanagers in family Thraupidae while the Western Tanager is a cardinalid.
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