Ramphocelus
Encyclopedia
Ramphocelus is a Neotropical genus of bird
s of the tanager
family. They have enlarged shiny whitish or bluish-grey lower mandibles, which are pointed upwards in display. However, this is greatly reduced in the females of most species. Males are black and red, orange or yellow, while females resemble a duller version of the males, or are brownish or greyish combined with dull red, orange or yellowish.
Ramphocelus tanagers are found in semi-open areas. The nest is a cup built by the female of plant materials such as moss, rootlets, and strips of large leaves like banana
or Heliconia
, and is often in a fairly open site in a tree. The female usually lays pale blue eggs, with grey, brown or lavender spots, and the young stay in the nest for only about 12 days.
The songs of this genus are repetitions of rich one- or two-syllable whistles
Ramphocelus tanagers hunt at forest edges or in second growth, taking insects in flight or picking them from leaves
The other species form two superspecies
. One includes Crimson-backed, Huallaga, Silver-beaked and Brazilian Tanagers, and the other comprises Passerini's, Cherrie's and Flame-rumped Tanagers.
The subspecies icteronotus of the Flame-rumped Tanager is sometimes considered a separate species, the Lemon-rumped Tanager, R. icteronotus, and Passerini's and Cherrie's Tanager were formerly lumped as Scarlet-rumped Tanager, R. passerinii (a treatment some authorities still prefer).
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of the 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...
family. They have enlarged shiny whitish or bluish-grey lower mandibles, which are pointed upwards in display. However, this is greatly reduced in the females of most species. Males are black and red, orange or yellow, while females resemble a duller version of the males, or are brownish or greyish combined with dull red, orange or yellowish.
Ramphocelus tanagers are found in semi-open areas. The nest is a cup built by the female of plant materials such as moss, rootlets, and strips of large leaves like banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
or Heliconia
Heliconia
Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions...
, and is often in a fairly open site in a tree. The female usually lays pale blue eggs, with grey, brown or lavender spots, and the young stay in the nest for only about 12 days.
The songs of this genus are repetitions of rich one- or two-syllable whistles
Ramphocelus tanagers hunt at forest edges or in second growth, taking insects in flight or picking them from leaves
Taxonomy
The Crimson-collared Tanager is sometimes placed in a genus of its own as Phlogothraupis sanguinolenta (Howell and Webb 1995), and a genetic study suggests that it is less closely related to the other Ramphocelus tanagers than they are to each other (Hackett 1996). Its closest relative is Masked Crimson Tanager.The other species form two superspecies
Superspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
. One includes Crimson-backed, Huallaga, Silver-beaked and Brazilian Tanagers, and the other comprises Passerini's, Cherrie's and Flame-rumped Tanagers.
The subspecies icteronotus of the Flame-rumped Tanager is sometimes considered a separate species, the Lemon-rumped Tanager, R. icteronotus, and Passerini's and Cherrie's Tanager were formerly lumped as Scarlet-rumped Tanager, R. passerinii (a treatment some authorities still prefer).
Species in taxonomic order
- Crimson-collared TanagerCrimson-collared TanagerThe Crimson-collared Tanager, Ramphocelus sanguinolentus, is a rather small Middle American songbird. It was first described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, its specific epithet from the Latin adjective sanguinolentus, "bloodied", referring to its red plumage.-Taxonomy:This...
, Ramphocelus sanguinolentus - Masked Crimson TanagerMasked Crimson TanagerThe Masked Crimson Tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru....
, Ramphocelus nigrogularis - Crimson-backed TanagerCrimson-backed TanagerThe Crimson-backed Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is found in Colombia, French Guyana, Panama, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest...
, Ramphocelus dimidiatus - Huallaga TanagerHuallaga TanagerThe Huallaga Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is endemic to Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
, Ramphocelus melanogaster - Silver-beaked TanagerSilver-beaked TanagerThe Silver-beaked Tanager, Ramphocelus carbo, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, and on Trinidad. It is common and conspicuous in some areas—it may be the bird most...
, Ramphocelus carbo - Brazilian TanagerBrazilian TanagerThe Brazilian Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is endemic to Brazil, occurring in the coastal region from Paraíba and southwards to Santa Catarina....
, Ramphocelus bresilius - Passerini's TanagerPasserini's TanagerPasserini's Tanager, Ramphocelus passerinii, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in the Caribbean lowlands from southern Mexico to western Panama...
, Ramphocelus passerinii - Cherrie's TanagerCherrie's TanagerThe Cherrie's Tanager, Ramphocelus costaricensis, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. This bird was formerly known as the Scarlet-rumped Tanager, but was split as a separate species from the Caribbean form,...
, Ramphocelus costaricensis - Flame-rumped TanagerFlame-rumped TanagerThe Flame-rumped Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is found in semi-open forest and woodland....
, Ramphocelus flammigerus- Lemon-rumped Tanager, Ramphocelus (flammigerus) icteronotus