Black-and-yellow Tanager
Encyclopedia
The Black-and-yellow Tanager (Chrysothlypis chrysomelas) is a fairly small passerine
bird. This tanager
is an endemic resident in the hills of Costa Rica
and Panama
. In Panama it has been recorded as far east as the border-region with Colombia
, but it has not yet been recorded in the latter country, though it almost certainly occurs.
In Costa Rica, the Black-and-yellow Tanager is found in the foothills and slopes on the Caribbean
side of the central mountain ranges, typically from 600 to 1200 m (1,968.5 to 3,937 ft) altitude, and occasionally down to 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). In Panama, it is found on both the Caribbean and Pacific slope from 450 to 1200 m (1,476.4 to 3,937 ft). The preferred habitat is the canopy of wet forest and tall second growth, but it will feed lower at woodland edges and clearing. The neat cup nest is built on a tree branch. The eggs are undescribed.
The adult Black-and-yellow Tanager is about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long and weighs 12.5 gram (0.4409245263139 oz). Most authorities recognize two subspecies: The nominate in Costa Rica and western Panama and C. c. ocularis in eastern Panama, but some recognize the population in Costa Rican and extreme western Panama as a third subspecies, C. c. titanota (then limiting the nominate to the remaining part of western Panama). The adult male has a bright yellow head, rump and underparts, and a black back, wings and tail. The wing linings are white. The male of C. c. ocularis differs in having a black spot on the lores. The female has olive upperparts and yellow underparts, but in Costa Rica and extreme western Panama (the sometimes recognized C. c. titanota) the throat and lower belly is whitish. She could be mistaken for a warbler
or a female Yellow-backed Tanager
. Immatures resemble the adult female.
Black-and-yellow Tanagers occur in small groups, or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
. This species feeds on small fruit
, usually swallowed whole, insect
s and spider
s.
The Black-and-yellow Tanager’s call is a scratchy single or repeated tsew, higher and faster than that of the Silver-throated Tanager
.
Some taxonomic lists modified the original name based on gender and use the specific name of chrysomelaena and this emendation is not considered correct.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird. This tanager
Tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...
is an endemic resident in the hills of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. In Panama it has been recorded as far east as the border-region with Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, but it has not yet been recorded in the latter country, though it almost certainly occurs.
In Costa Rica, the Black-and-yellow Tanager is found in the foothills and slopes on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
side of the central mountain ranges, typically from 600 to 1200 m (1,968.5 to 3,937 ft) altitude, and occasionally down to 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). In Panama, it is found on both the Caribbean and Pacific slope from 450 to 1200 m (1,476.4 to 3,937 ft). The preferred habitat is the canopy of wet forest and tall second growth, but it will feed lower at woodland edges and clearing. The neat cup nest is built on a tree branch. The eggs are undescribed.
The adult Black-and-yellow Tanager is about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long and weighs 12.5 gram (0.4409245263139 oz). Most authorities recognize two subspecies: The nominate in Costa Rica and western Panama and C. c. ocularis in eastern Panama, but some recognize the population in Costa Rican and extreme western Panama as a third subspecies, C. c. titanota (then limiting the nominate to the remaining part of western Panama). The adult male has a bright yellow head, rump and underparts, and a black back, wings and tail. The wing linings are white. The male of C. c. ocularis differs in having a black spot on the lores. The female has olive upperparts and yellow underparts, but in Costa Rica and extreme western Panama (the sometimes recognized C. c. titanota) the throat and lower belly is whitish. She could be mistaken for a warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
or a female Yellow-backed Tanager
Yellow-backed Tanager
The Yellow-backed Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, the tanagers.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname; also extreme eastern Panama in Central America...
. Immatures resemble the adult female.
Black-and-yellow Tanagers occur in small groups, or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
. This species feeds on small fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, usually swallowed whole, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s.
The Black-and-yellow Tanager’s call is a scratchy single or repeated tsew, higher and faster than that of the Silver-throated Tanager
Silver-throated Tanager
The Silver-throated Tanager, Tangara icterocephala, is a small passerine bird. This brightly coloured tanager is a resident from Costa Rica, through Panama and western Colombia, to western Ecuador.-Habitat:...
.
Some taxonomic lists modified the original name based on gender and use the specific name of chrysomelaena and this emendation is not considered correct.