Burnished-buff tanager

Appearance

There are several subspecies of the burnished-buff tanager, them falling into two main groups: The northern and western "cayana" group, and the southern and eastern "flava" group. Males of the "cayana" group have an orange-rufous crown, black mask, and cream underparts distinctly tinged blue on the throat and chest. Males of the "flava" group have an orange-buff crown, and buff underparts with a black patch extending from the mask, over the throat and central chest, to the mid-belly. Males of both groups have turquoise wings and tail. Females are duller than the males, and have black restricted to a poorly demarcated "shadow" of a mask.

Distribution

It is found in the northern Guianas, most of Venezuela and east-central Colombia; also near the Amazon River outlet in Brazil, as well as most of the east of that country, Paraguay and northeast Argentina. It also occurs very locally in Bolivia and Peru. It can be seen in virtually any semi-open habitat with trees, including human-altered habitats such as gardens, plantations and parks.

Behavior

It is a generally common, and usually seen singly or in pairs. As all tanagers, it is a largely frugivorous species, being particularly fond of the fruits of the native "Cecropia" and Brazilian pepper as well as that of introduced Magnoliaceae such as "Michelia champaca".