Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo)

Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo)

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Thraupidae | [latin] Ramphocelus carbo | [UK] Silver-beaked Tanager | [FR] Piranga noir | [DE] Purpurtangare | [ES] Sangre de Toro Apagado | [NL] Fluweeltangare

Subspecies

Physical charateristics

The male can look very dark but in good light it is possible to make out the rich maroon tones and the deep crimson on the throat and chest. The male’s mandible is a gleaming silvery-white while that of the female is greyish, The female is reddish brown above and paler below.

Listen to the sound of Silver-beaked Tanager

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/S/Silver-beaked Tanager.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

Range

South America : North, West, Southcentral

Habitat

It is a common bird which frequents forest borders, clearings and gardens. It is usually associated with water. The Silver-beaked Tanager is often seen in groups of six to ten individuals.

Reproduction

The female builds the nest alone, in the shape of an open, elaborate basket, in which it lays two eggs at a time. The female incubates the eggs for 11-12 days before they hatch. The chicks fledge after another 11-12 days.

Feeding habits

Silver-beaks feed both on insects and fruit at 3 meter or lower and only sometimes above 15 meter. They frequenct ultivation young stages of secondary forest and savanna country, only rarely entering forest for fruit and necta, although they are common along roadsides runing through forested areas. On the ground Silver-beaks feed on the short grass of roadsides as
well as among the rough grass and weeds of cultivated areas and plantations. Above ground their foraging for insects is nearly all among foliage on the edge of roads and clearings or the thick low canopy of second-growth trees and shrubs. When searching, they hop about on top of the foliage, moving fairly rapidly and sometimes darting forwards. They also take nectar from trees and vines, often at higher levels than when feeding on fruit and insects.

Conservation

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Migration

Sedentary throughout range

Distribution map