Chestnut-headed Tanager

Overview

The chestnut-headed tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae, found in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina. It was formerly the sole member of the genus Pyrrhocoma but is now classified under Thlypopsis following a 2014 molecular phylogenetic study.

Identification

• Males are predominantly grey with a chestnut-brown head and a distinct black mask.
• Females appear olive green above and grey below, featuring a hint of rust on the crown.
• The song is characterised by a very bright 'pseee-pseee-pseee, twee-tweee-tweee'.
• The species is strongly sexually dimorphic.

Habitat

This species inhabits the Atlantic Forest regions of southeast Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Did you know?

The species epithet pyrrhocoma derives from the Ancient Greek 'purrhokomēs', meaning 'red-haired', and was specifically coined to preserve the memory of the former genus Pyrrhocoma after a taxonomic merge.