Red-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus phoenicius)

Identification & Behavior: ~19 cm (7.4 in). The male Red-shouldered Tanager is all black with semi-concealed bright red and white shoulder patch. The female is dusky brown above with a gray head and a creamy white throat. The underparts are grayish. The juvenile is similar to the female with dusky streaks on the breast and rest of the underparts. The bill in both sexes is silvery, particularly in the male. It forages in pairs in scrub, tall shrubbery, and other similar habitats in semi-open habitats and forest edges. The male is similar to a male White-lined Tanager but is distinguished by a red and white shoulder patch. These two tanagers have a limited range overlap.

Status: The Red Shouldered Tanager is fairly common but only known to occur at specific locations in Peru. It also occurs in Co, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Tangara de Hombro Rojo.

Sub-species: Red-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus phoenicius), Swainson, 1838.

Meaning of Name: Tachyphonus: Gr takhus= fast and phoneo= to speak. Takhuphonos= fast speaking. phoenicius: Gr. Phoinikeos= crimson, red, dark-red, purple.

See more of the Family Thraupidae