Covered in a plethora of varying fiery shades red, orange and yellow makes this tiny bird burn brightly where ever he goes.
Meet the Flame-colored tanager
The flame-colored tanager (Piranga bidentata), formerly known as the stripe-backed tanager, is a medium-sized American songbird in the Cardinalidae family. Measuring a mere 7.1 to 7.5 inches long the male’s head and underparts are red-orange, becoming more yellow towards the vent area. there is a brown patch below the eye.
The back and mantle are a dusky orange with an olive tint.
The female is similarly patterned, however, her head and belly are yellow, while her back is olive with black streaks.
Flame-colored tanagers are found from Mexico, throughout Central America to the northern border of Panama. They can also occasionally be found just across the southern border in the United States.
This species prefers the canopy of humid montane forests and large trees in non-forested areas such as coffee plantations, pastures, and gardens. It can also be found in open oak and pine/oak woodlands.
Flame-colored tanager’s like to dine mainly on arthropods, as well as a variety of berries. Though it spends most of its time hunting through the canopy, it will occasionally make a sally out, hunting for flying insects, It will also descend to near ground level looking for fruit.
Breeding has been documented between April and May when an open cup of fairly coarse material lined with fine grass.
This species occurs in several protected areas, and is “less sensitive to environmental disturbance than are many species.” That being the case the IUCN has assessed the Flame-colored tanager as being of Least Concern.
