This stunning tanager of high elevation forests in Colombia and Ecuador posed quite nicely for me, but most of my shots have him/her munching on some morsel so they aren't as "clean" as I would like but I will take it! They are fairly common and consequently have a IUCN rating of Least Concern.
I couldn't have asked this beautiful bird to pose more cooperatively for me. This aptly named species inhabits high elevation forests from Venezuela down to Bolivia and also some lower elevation spots in Venezuela. My photograph is from my second trip to Colombia.
Tanagers are eye-popping in general, but this large one that inhabits montane forests in the Andes from Venezuela down to Bolivia, takes it to another level. Unfortunately on my good shots below, he has his blue rump covered with his wings so I included a less crisp shot showing that feature. They are apparently common at the right elevations. All my photos from my second trip to Colombia.
The Lacrimose Mountain Tanager is widespread at high elevation in the Andes from Venezuela down to Peru. It is so named because of the "tear drop" next to its eye. We had them in a couple different places on my second trip to Colombia.
The Black-cheeked Mountain Tanager is also known as the Santa Marta Mountain Tanager which I think is a better name because it is truly a Santa Marta endemic. It is only found in high elevation forests of the Santa Marta Mountains in the northeast of Colombia.
This unique looking tanager inhabits high elevation montane forests in the Andes from Colombia down through Bolivia. I photographed this one on my second trip to Colombia.
The Blue-capped Tanager is mostly a high elevation species in the Andes from Venezuela down to Bolivia, but it does venture down to sea level in Venezuela. We had them in a couple different spots on my second trip to Colombia.
This awesome tanager is one of the largest tanagers and has some bright colors to boot. It is found in high elevation montane forests of the Andean highlands from Venezuela down to Bolivia. We had this one at a feeder set up on the grounds of Termales del Ruiz in Colombia.
I only obtained one half decent photo of this Vulnerable (IUCN criteria) tanager that is endemic to a small area of montane cloud forest in the western cordillera in Colombia. Photographed at Camino Montezuma where they have set aside forests for this flagship species.
The Black-and-gold Tanager is endemic to the western cordillera in Colombia. This one was photographed on the Camino Montezuma.
This beauty of a tanager inhabits the forests of Venezuela, Colombia and Panama and oddly enough has been introduced to French Polynesia. I had them on both of my trips to Colombia but improved on pictures on the second trip.
This tanager is endemic to western Colombia and common within its range. There are nine species in this genus across Central and South America. All photographs from the Cauca Valley.
This all black (male) tanager looks like some of the others in South America, but it is the default in some areas which is true for the Pantanal where I photographed these. Its bill is also significantly larger than the similar Ruby-crowned Tanager. It is sexually dimorphic with the female being a reddish brown color. The white "line" on the shoulder of the male is only visible when it is displaying during breeding season.
Ruby-crowned Tanagers look like White-lined Tanagers and if you don't pay attention can easily be mistaken for a blackbird or cowbird. They inhabit the Atlantic Forest of southeast South America. These photos were taken near Sao Paulo.
The White-shouldered Tanager looks a lot like the White-lined Tanager, but it has a much more obvious big white shoulder patch. It ranges across a large area in Central and South America. All of my photos are from Colombia, a mix from my first two trips.
This widespread tanager of Central and South America is the only member of its genus. My photographs are from the Pantanal in Brazil.
This sleek looking tanager has a couple disjunct populations in South America, one in the Atlantic forests of the southeast and another along the Andes from Peru to Bolivia. I photographed this one near Sao Paulo while we had a one-day stop before proceeding to the Pantanal in Brazil. It is the only member of its genus.
This tanager is the only species in its genus with a name including Hemispingus, all the other seven being called tanagers. It is found in Montane forests from Venezuela down through Bolivia in the Andes of South America. I photographed this one in the Reserva Chinguaza near Bogota, Colombia.
This is apparently a very widespread tanager of South America, but I have only run into it once so far on my trip to the Pantanal in Brazil. It can inhabit a variety of successional habitats including Cerrado or dry scrubland.
A questionable name to say the least. Who thinks of a particular shade of yellow-green when they think of Oleaginous? Not I! This is a high elevation species across the Andes from Venezuela down to Peru. I took the below photo on my second trip to Colombia. The Hemispingus genus contains four species, all of which inhabit the Andes montane forests in northwest South America.
The Hooded Tanager of South America has two disjunct populations, one across the very north coast and another much larger one in the central and southeastern portions. Consequently, it is an abundant and widespread species. I love the piercing yellow eye!
This tanager is interesting because it travels in roving family flocks but if you don't luck into one of the flocks, you will be hard pressed to find one because they don't stay in one area and they are relatively scarce. They are considered Vulnerable per the IUCN criteria. They are a high elevation species from Venezuela down to Peru. We had ours in Colombia.
The White-banded Tanager is also known as the Shrike-like Tanager for obvious reasons. It inhabits Cerrado (dry scrub) in mostly Brazil but also Paraguay and Bolivia. Despite it looking just like a shrike, it is distantly related. This one was photographed in Chapada dos Guimaraes north of the Pantanal.
This tanager is almost a Brazilian endemic but a few have crossed into Paraguay. Their range covers much of Brazil especially in the south and east. This one was photographed in Chapada dos Guimaraes just north of the Pantanal in Brazil.
