Orange-headed Tanager

Appearance

The orange-headed tanager is a small, thin-billed tanager that has an average length of 13 cm and a weight of 14–19 g. Its proportions are similar to those of a New World warbler. Males of the nominate subspecies have rufous-orange crowns and sides of the head, becoming bright yellow on the lores, ocular region, and throat. The upperparts are sandy-gray, with dusky primary coverts and flight feathers, the latter of which are edged with gray. The underparts are buff to cinnamon and turn whitish on the center of the lower breast, belly, and undertail coverts. The bill is dark, the iris is dark brown, and the legs are gray.

Females have duller upperparts than males, less extensive yellow on the head, and duller yellow on the face and throat. Immatures are similar to females, but are even duller, with grayish-olive upperparts and paler underparts.

Naming

There are three recognized subspecies of the orange-headed tanager:

⤷  "T. s. sordida" : The nominate subspecies, it is found from eastern Bolivia to Brazil, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina.
⤷  "T. s. chrysopis" : Originally described as a separate species, it is found in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and Peru, and western Brazil. It differs from the nominate in having pure gray underparts and light grayish-brown sides and breasts.
⤷  "T. s. orinocensis" Friedmann, 1942: It is found in central Venezuela. It has pale gray upperparts tinged grayish-cinnamon.

Distribution

The orange-headed tanager is native to South America, where it is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. It is the only member of its genus that is found in the lowlands of the Amazon rainforest. In Venezuela and the western Amazon, it inhabits successional vegetation like tall "Gynerium" grasses, willows, "Tessaria" and "Cecropia" shrubbery, and young secondary growth near rivers and on river islands. In the southern Amazon, it inhabits dry to semi-humid "cerrado", open woodland canopies, shrub, parks, and thinner riparian forest. In northwestern Argentina, it inhabits scrub, brush, and the edges of drier open woodland, and is seldom observed in uninterrupted forest.

Behavior

The orange-headed tanager is found in pairs or groups of 3–4 individuals, occasionally in mixed-species foraging flocks.

Habitat

The orange-headed tanager generally inhabits elevations up to 800 m, but is only found up to 100 m in Venezuela and 400 m in Colombia. Local populations in Bolivia can inhabit elevations as high as 1,500 m. In Brazil and Argentina, the species has been recorded seasonally migrating from the Andes to lowlands during the austral winter.The orange-headed tanager is found in pairs or groups of 3–4 individuals, occasionally in mixed-species foraging flocks.

Reproduction

The orange-headed tanager has been recorded nesting in December, building a cup-shaped nest about 2 m above the ground. Eggs are laid in clutches of two, and are bluish-white with brown markings. The shiny cowbird has been recorded as a brood parasite of the orange-headed tanager.

Food

The orange-headed tanager is an omnivorous species, having been recorded feeding on orthopterans, beetles, flies, spiders, fruit, and seeds. It forages in an active, New World warbler-like manner, gleaning insects from foliage with rapid hops, or less commonly hovering or sallying to catch prey in the air.