Tachyphonus cristatus

Flame-crested tanager Tachyphonus cristatus, copyright Don Marsille.

Belongs within: Tachyphonus.

Tachyphonus cristatus, the flame-crested tanager, is a canopy-dwelling tanager with a fairly short thick bill and small orangish to red bib (Hilty 2011).

Characters (Hilty 2011): 15 cm; 16.6–23 g. Fairly short thick bill and small orangish to red bib. Male nominate race mainly glossy black above and below, with broad, flat crest bright orange, paler in front; rump and uppertail-coverts yellow-buff, upperwing-coverts, flight-feathers and tail black, white patch on outermost scapulars (often hidden); centre of throat straw to dull buffy orange, underwing-coverts white; iris dark reddish-brown; bill black, base of lower mandible blue-grey; legs horn-grey. Female generally olive to rufescent brown above with richer brown crown, rich ochraceous below, with whitish to buff-white throat and faint narrow buff eye-ring.

Tachyphonus cristatus (Linnaeus 1766) [=Tanagra cristata]H11
|--T. c. cristatusH11
|--T. c. brunneus (Spix 1825)H11
|--T. c. cristatellus Sclater 1862H11
|--T. c. fallax Zimmer 1945H11
|--T. c. huarandosae Chapman 1925H11
|--T. c. intercedens Berlepsch 1880H11
|--T. c. madeirae Hellmayr 1910H11
|--T. c. nattereri Pelzeln 1870H11
|--T. c. orinocensis Zimmer & Phelps 1945H11
`--T. c. pallidigula (Spix 1825)H11

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[H11] Hilty, S. L. 2011. Family Thraupidae (tanagers). In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 16. Tanagers to New World Blackbirds pp. 46–329. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.

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