Fawn-breasted Tanager

Overview

The fawn-breasted tanager (Pipraeidea melanonota) is a species of tanager characterised by a blue head and cinnamon underparts. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its extensive range and large population size.

Identification

• Average body length of 14 cm with short legs, a short tail, and long wings.
• Unusually short, wide beak similar to that of swallows; the bill is dusky with a grey lower mandible.
• Males feature a sky-blue crown and broad black mask over the eyes and ear-coverts, with dull blue mantle and bright turquoise-blue lower back and rump; females are duller with a brownish back.
• Calls consist of 'see' or 'swee' tones in slow sets of four or five notes, or a faster pulsating trill of around a dozen notes.

Habitat

This species occurs throughout South America in the Andes of northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as the highlands of northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It inhabits forest borders, bushy pastures, and semi-open cultivated areas with large trees and clearings.

Diet

The fawn-breasted tanager consumes a mixed diet of vegetable matter, including berries, fruit pulp, buds, flowers, and seeds, alongside insects such as moths, butterflies, and larvae. It generally feeds alone but may join mixed-species flocks and congregate at fruiting trees.

Did you know?

Nests are well-lined cup-shaped structures built on the edge of pine branches 15–20 m from the ground, incorporating materials such as moss, sticks, and coloured threads.