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Glen Tepke | profile | all galleries >> All Birds, All the Time >> Passerines ("Songbirds") >> Tropical Tanagers, Honeycreepers, Saltators >> Crimson-backed Tanager tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Gray-headed Tanager | Crimson-backed Tanager | Blue-gray Tanager | Palm Tanager | Red-legged Honeycreeper | Buff-throated Saltator | Slate-colored Grosbeak

Crimson-backed Tanager

Ramphocelus dimidiatus
Crimson-backed Tanager Crimson-backed Tanager

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Glen Tepke 22-Mar-2004 02:03
This species is not illustrated in Stiles & Skutch because it is not found in Costa Rica, just Panama, Colombia and Venezuela. Conversely, Scarlet-rumped Tanager is not found in central Panama where these shots were taken.

Scarlet-rumped Tanager has been split into two species since Stiles & Skutch was published: Passerini's Tanager (R. passerinii) on the Caribbean side, and Cherrie's Tanager (R. costaricensis) on the Pacific slope. The head and upper back of males of both species is black rather than dark maroon, and the entire bill, not just the lower mandible, is bright silver colored.

A male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) is a more uniform deep red all over except for the black wings and tail, and lacks the bright silver beak.
Will Rountree 21-Mar-2004 23:39
Glen,
The bird on the left in Stiles, Birds of Costa Rica is Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii). The one on the right either is not in Stiles or resembles Scarlet Tanager.
Regards, will
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