Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries
Azure-rumped tanager (Tangara cabanisi)
Azure-rumped tanager fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Azure-rumped tanager description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes |
| Family | Thraupidae |
| Genus | Tangara (1) |
The azure-rumped tanager is a stunning bird, which is found only in a very small area of Mexico and Guatemala, and has predominantly sky-blue plumage. The iris and the region between the eye and the bill are black, giving the appearance of a mask, and the crown is a purplish-blue. The back is mottled green, and the underparts are pale and scaled black on the breast. There are also black patches in the centre of the uppertail and at the tops of the wings (2). Sexes are similar in appearance, but juveniles differ by having duller plumage (3). The azure-rumped tanager can be heard calling when moving from tree to tree; calls include flat bursts of ticking notes, a low, slow se-e-eet or a loud and excited chi-tuck tweet (4).
- Size
- Length: 15 cm (2)
More »
Top
Related species
Azure-rumped tanager biology
The azure-rumped tanager is a social species that is frequently seen in flocks of six to eight birds, foraging in the tree tops (4). The cup-shaped nest is concealed in dense foliage in the largest trees in the forest, in which a clutch of two eggs is incubated for 14 days. This occurs from mid-April to mid-June, in the early wet season. The azure-rumped tanager exhibits social breeding behaviour, that is, adults other than the parents contribute to the breeding activities by assisting with feeding the chicks a diet of insects and fruit. The chicks leave the nest after approximately 15 days (3).
TopAzure-rumped tanager range
The azure-rumped tanager occurs in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in south-west Mexico, and the adjacent area in Guatemala (3).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Azure-rumped tanager habitat
The azure-rumped tanager inhabits humid evergreen broadleaf forest, between elevations of 1,000 and 1,700 meters in Mexico, and up to 1,800 meters in Guatemala (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Azure-rumped tanager status
The azure-rumped tanager is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Azure-rumped tanager threats
The azure-rumped tanager is threatened by the loss of its forest habitat due to fires, logging and agriculture. The area in which it inhabits is optimal land for the cultivation of coffee. As human populations in the region grow, the pressure on the remaining natural forest will only increase (2) (5).
TopAzure-rumped tanager conservation
The azure-rumped tanager occurs within the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, an important area protecting some of the last remaining tracts of Central American cloud forest and Pacific Coast tropical evergreen forest. It is a refuge for many rare and endangered species, including the azure-rumped tanager. However, this too is threatened by the activities of the region’s growing human population (6). Ensuring effective protection of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is one measure proposed to protect populations of the azure-rumped tanager, as well as carrying out surveys and creating new protected areas within its range (2).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For further information on this species see:
-
Birdlife International:
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=9384&m=0
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
Glossary
- Foraging
- Searching for food.
References
-
IUCN Red List (January, 2007)
http://www.iucnredlist.org -
Birdlife International (May, 2007)
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=9384&m=0 - Long, A.J. and Heath, M.F. (1994) Nesting ecology and helping behaviour in the azure-rumped tanager in Mexico. The Condor, 96: 1095 - 1099.
- Hilty, S.L. and Simon, D. (1977) The azure-rumped tanager in Mexico with comparative remarks on the gray-and-gold tanager. Auk, 94: 605 - .
-
Wild World Ecoregion Profile (May, 2007)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0162.html -
Nature Conservancy (May, 2007)
http://parksinperil.org/wherewework/mexico/protectedarea/eltriunfo.html
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.