Black-and-white Tanager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Conothraupis speculigera (Gould, 1855) |
The Black-and-white Tanager (Conothraupis speculigera) is a tanager found in Ecuador, Peru and the Brazilian state of Acre. It is found in scrub, woodland and forest borders at elevation of 100-1800 m. (330-5900 ft). It is generally uncommon to rare. The only other member of its genus is the recently rediscovered Cone-billed Tanager.
It has a total length of 16 cm. (6½ in) and weighs 23-28 g. (0,8-1 oz). The male is black with a grey rump, white underparts and a white wing-speculum. It is longer-billed than the superficially similar Black-and-white Seedeater and lacks the black flanks and chalk-white bill of the related Cone-billed Tanager. The female is olive with faintly mottled, yellow-tinged underparts. Both sexes have a reddish iris and a greyish bill. The males' song is distinctive, blackbird-like, loud and ringing.
In the northern part of its range it breeds during the rainy-season, after which it disperses. The 2-3 brown-blotched pale blue eggs are placed in a low, untidy nest (Greeney et al, 2006). It is usually seen singly or in pairs, but has been seen in flocks of up to 50 individuals. It eats insects and seeds.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Conothraupis speculigera. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened.
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru' by Clements & Shany (2001) ISBN 0-934797-18-8
- Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide by Ridgely & Greenfield (2001) ISBN 0-8014-8721-8
- The Birds Birds of South America vol. 1 by Ridgely & Tudor (1989) ISBN 0-19-857217-4
