White-winged Tanager

Overview

The white-winged tanager, Piranga leucoptera, is a medium-sized American songbird belonging to the family Cardinalidae. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN and is found in discontinuous areas ranging from Mexico through Central America to northern South America.

Identification

• Approximately 13 cm long, with a weight range of 13 to 20 g.
• Nominate males are mostly red with a black 'mask' and black wings featuring white wing bars.
• Females are dull olive-yellow with black wings and white wing bars, while juveniles are similar but duller.
• Song described as a thin, wiry 'e-seé-se-whéét'.

Habitat

The species inhabits pine-oak forest and shady coffee plantations in Mexico and northern Central America, while in the rest of its range it prefers humid montane forest, cloud forest, and mature secondary forest. Elevation ranges vary by region, such as 100–1,800 m in Mexico and 1,100–1,850 m in Costa Rica. It is present in many protected areas and regions with intact habitat.

Diet

The diet consists of fruit, berries, seeds, and likely insects. Pairs and small groups forage in the forest canopy or at the edge and may join mixed-species foraging flocks.

Did you know?

Very little is known about the species' breeding phenology, aside from a single documentation of a female building a small cup nest high up on a mossy branch.