Rose-throated Tanager

Overview

The rose-throated tanager (Piranga roseogularis) is a medium-sized songbird in the family Cardinalidae. It is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Central America, specifically found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Identification

• Males possess greyish plumage with a deep rose throat and crown, while the folded wings and tail appear crimson.
• Females feature a yellow crown and throat with yellowish olive upper parts, pale gray to whitish underparts, and yellowish folded wings and tail.
• The species is 16 cm long and weighs between 21 and 30 g.
• The song is described as a rich warbled 'whee chee cheer-el-chee cheer-el-cheu chee-el-chu...', accompanied by calls including a nasal 'rreh' and a mewing 'myaaa'.

Habitat

This species primarily inhabits the edges of semi-humid and humid mature forest and the undergrowth of scrubby forest, though it is occasionally found in areas with scrub and scattered trees. Its range extends from sea level to 250 m in elevation, with different subspecies occupying the northern, drier parts of the Yucatán Peninsula, the more humid southern regions, and the islands of Mujeres and Cozumel.

Diet

The rose-throated tanager forages throughout most levels of the forest, including undergrowth, saplings, mid-levels, and the canopy, where it often joins mixed-species foraging flocks. It has also been observed following army ant swarms, although specific details of its diet have not been published.

Did you know?

A 2019 genetic study using mitochondrial DNA revealed that the rose-throated tanager is a basal early offshoot of a lineage that gave rise to the scarlet, hepatic, summer, western, and flame-colored tanagers.