White-lined Tanager
Encyclopedia
The White-lined Tanager, Tachyphonus rufus, is a medium-sized passerine
bird
. This tanager
is a resident breeder from Costa Rica
south to northern Argentina
, and on Trinidad
and Tobago
.
It occurs in semi-open areas including gardens. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree or shrub, and the female incubates three, sometimes two, brown-blotched cream eggs for 14–15 days.
Adult White-lined Tanagers are 18.5 cm long and weigh 33 g. They are long-tailed and with a mostly black stout pointed bill. The adult male is glossy black, apart from white underwing coverts and a small white patch on the upperwing. These white areas are conspicuous in flight but otherwise rarely visible. Females and immatures are entirely rufous in plumage
, somewhat paler below.
These are restless but unwary birds which eat a wide variety of fruit
, but especially epiphyte
s. They also take some nectar and insect
s, including beetle
s, ant
s and grasshopper
s. They appear to be territorial, as only one nesting pair is usually seen in an area.
The White-lined Tanager’s song is a fast repetitive cheeru. Local names in Trinidad and Tobago
include 'Parson' (for the male), and 'Singing Angel'; on these islands, the species is valued highly for its whistling ability.
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
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...
. 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 a resident breeder from 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....
south to northern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and on Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
.
It occurs in semi-open areas including gardens. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree or shrub, and the female incubates three, sometimes two, brown-blotched cream eggs for 14–15 days.
Adult White-lined Tanagers are 18.5 cm long and weigh 33 g. They are long-tailed and with a mostly black stout pointed bill. The adult male is glossy black, apart from white underwing coverts and a small white patch on the upperwing. These white areas are conspicuous in flight but otherwise rarely visible. Females and immatures are entirely rufous in plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, somewhat paler below.
These are restless but unwary birds which eat a wide variety of 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,...
, but especially epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s. They also take some nectar and 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, including beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s. They appear to be territorial, as only one nesting pair is usually seen in an area.
The White-lined Tanager’s song is a fast repetitive cheeru. Local names in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
include 'Parson' (for the male), and 'Singing Angel'; on these islands, the species is valued highly for its whistling ability.
External links
- White-lined Tanager videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- White-lined Tanager photo gallery VIREO
- Photo-Medium Res; Article tekipaki.jp – "Tanagers"
- Photo-High Res; Article & synopsis arthurgrosset – "South American Birds"
- Photo-High Res--(Jet Black Male); Article pbase.com – "Trinidad and Tobago Birds"
