Appearance
Crimson-collared tanagers average 19–20 cm long. The adult plumage is black with a red collar covering the nape, neck, and breast. All tail coverts are also red. The bill is striking pale blue and the legs are blue-gray. In adults, the irides are crimson, contrary to what is shown in Howell and Webb. Females average slightly duller than males, but are sometimes indistinguishable from them. Juvenile birds are similar except that the hood is dull red, the black areas are tinged with brown, and the breast is mottled red and black. Young birds also have a duller bill color.Vocalizations are high-pitched and sibilant. There are several calls; one rendered as "ssii-p" is given both when perched and in flight. The song is jerky and consists of two-to-four-note phrases separated by pauses, "tueee-teew, chu-chee-wee-chu, teweee".
Distribution
The crimson-collared tanager ranges from southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca in Mexico through the Atlantic slope of Central America, to the highlands of western Panama.
Habitat
It inhabits the edges of humid evergreen forests and second growth, where it is often seen in pairs at middle to upper levels.
Reproduction
The nest is a cup built of such materials as moss, rootlets and strips of large leaves such as banana or "Heliconia", and is placed at middle height in a tree at a forest edge. The female usually lays two eggs, pale blue with blackish spots.References:
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