Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii)

Identification & Behavior: ~14. 5 cm (5.7 in). The Flame-faced Tanager has a bright orange forehead and cheeks which grade to yellow on the rest of the head. It has a black throat and ear patcher. The upperparts are black with a greenish-yellow shoulder patch and yellow and greenish-buff rump. The underparts are greenish-buff grading to rufous toward the belly. It is similar to the Saffron-crowned Tanager but is distinguished by having a black back and greenish buff underparts.

Status: The Flame-face Tanager is common in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 1100-2500 m. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Tangara Cara de Fuego.

Sub-species: Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii parzudakii), (Lafresnaye), 1843. E Andes of Colombia (W slope from Santander to Cundinamarca and head of Magdalena Valley in Huila; E slope probably throughout, but recorded only Meta, Caquetá, Putumayo and Nariño) and E slope in Ecuador.
(Tangara parzudakii urubambae), J. T. Zimmer, 1943.  E slope of Andes in Peru (S to Cuzco and Ayacucho).

Meaning of Name: Tangara: Tupí name, Tangara= dancer, one who turns and skips, originally used for the manakins, but subsequently (Marcgrave 1648) transferred to other bright finch-like birds.
parzudakii: In honor of Charles Parzudaki (1806-1889) French natural history dealer.

See more of the Family Thraupidae