Golden-crowned Tanager (Iridosornis rufivertex)

Identification & Behavior: ~16 cm (6.5 in). The Golden-crowned Tanager is all bright blue with a black head and a bright golden crown. The undertail coverts are rusty. It forages in pairs or alone in montane humid scrub and elfin forests. It is similar to the Yellow-scarfed Tanager but these of these two species range on opposite sides of the Marañon Valley.

Status: The Golden-crowned Tanager is uncommon in montane scrub and elfin forests of the east slope of the Andes in extreme northern Peru, on the north and west side of the Marañon Valley. It generally ranges at elevations between 2400-3000 m. The Golden-crowned Tanager also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Tangara de Corona Dorada.

Sub-species: Golden-crowned Tanager (Iridosornis rufivertex rufivertex) (Lafresnaye), 1842.

Meaning of Name: Iridosornis: Gr. iris, iridos= rainbow and ornis, ornithos= bird.
rufivertex: L. rufus= rufous and vertex, verticis= crown of the head.

See more of the Family Thraupidae