Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Brazil, Panama

Bird name: Green Honeycreeper
Latin: Chlorophanes spiza
Other: Mielero verde (Es) • Saí-verde (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers, Honeycreepers
Range: Mexico to Brazil
Similar:

The Green Honeycreeper is a fairly common visitor to Jonas’ fruit feeders in Brazil. The male, above, has a distinctively shaped black hood on a turquoise body. The female, directly below, is leaf green. Both have yellow lower half of bill and red irises.

A juvenile male is pictured further below, showing a mixture of male and female plumage.

The lowest photo, taken in Panama on the observation deck of the Canopy Tower hotel, shows a female on a Cecropia with darker olive wing markings than the Brazilian birds I saw.

Below, a female Green Honeycreeper, Brazil.
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Itatiaia November 2009

Bird name: Chestnut Bellied Euphonia
Latin: Euphonia pectoralis
Other: Ferro-velho (Br) • Fruterito alcalde, tieté, tangará alcalde (Es)
Family: Fringillidae • Finches, Euphonias
Range: Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
Similar:

The Chestnut-bellied Euphonia is very beautifully coloured, with a royal blue coat, yellow shoulder and rust-coloured underparts. The female (further below) is greenish on top with an indistinct blue cap and only a small patch of chestnut underneath near the tail.

The Chestnut-bellied Euphonia was not common at the feeders in Itatiaia and seemed only to appear when all other tourists had left. It lives in southeastern South America, mostly in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Also seen at Serra dos Tucanos Lodge.

Below, male Chestnut-bellied Euphonia at Ypê, Itatiaia, Brazil


Below, male Chestnut-bellied Euphonia at Serra dos Tucanos, Brazil
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Lagoa do Peixe • November 2009

Bird name: Saffron Finch
Latin: Sicalis flaveola
Other: Canário-da-terra-verdadeiro (Br) • Canario de tejado (Es), Jilguero dorado
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers, Finches
Range: South America, Caribbean
Similar:

The Saffron Finch is now classed with the Tanagers (Thraupidae) rather than the Buntings (Emberizidae).

The male is distinguished by a bright yellow front and orange/saffron glow above and sometimes below the face - there are various races.

The race pictured above is probably subspecies pelzelni, from location. Females and juveniles are hard to distinguish - they lack most of the yellow colouring and therefore look similar to other females. I’m going here on the striped chest as a distinguishing feature, but treat my IDs with caution.

As you can see below, the Saffron Finch takes advantage of the Rufous Hornero’s great nest-building abilities. Rufous Hornero’s typically build a new nest every year, so there are plenty of empty ones to be squatted.

The Saffron Finch is found throughout much of South America and the Caribbean, often near farm land.

Below, adult Saffron Finch, Pantanal, August.
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Serra dos Tucanos, September 2011

Bird name: Red Eyed Vireo
Latin: Vireo olivaceus
Other: Vireo ojirrojo (Es) • Juruviara (Br)
Family: Vireonidae • Vireos
Range: Canada through Amazonia, South America
Similar:

The Red Eyed Vireo has a red iris, thin black stripe above white supercilium, light underparts, yellowy green upperparts.

There are resident North American and South American populations, both migrating. A South-American resident group is called Chivi Vireo - birds have brown eyes and yellow vent.

The Chivi Vireo pictured above was seen at Serra dos Tucanos Lodge near Rio in September. Red-eyed Vireos are seen in many forests of South America, many for example in Oriente, Ecuador, in March. We saw a migrant Red-eyed Vireo at the Finca Hartmann in western Panama, in May (further below).More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Itatiaia, Ubatuba • November 2009

Bird name: Golden Chevroned Tanager
Latin: Thraupis ornata
Other: Sanhaçu-de-encontro-amarelo (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Brazil: principally Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo
Similar:

The Golden-chevroned Tanager can look a little grey and muddy, depending on the individual, the angle and the light. Females and juveniles are certainly duller than adult males. Some are good-looking, bright and colourful birds.

The Golden-chevroned Tanager is basically a blue bird with a little yellow patch, or golden chevron, on the wing. It’s the only bird in the region with such a mark, so easy to identify. Females are paler than males, especially underneath. Some individuals have dusky lores, but others not so much.

The Golden-chevroned Tanager is endemic to a fairly small strip of the southeast coast of Brazil but is one of the most common tanagers around, so not hard to find.

Below, Golden-chevroned Tanager, Brazil
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved: Brazil November 2009

Bird name: Ruby Crowned Tanager
Latin: Tachyphonus coronatus
Other: Tiê-preto (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina
Similar: Shiny Cowbird, White-lined Tanager

The male Ruby-crowned Tanager is all black and thus not dissimilar in aspect to the Shiny Cowbird and others. It can show a little white on the shoulder (see below). Occasionally you can spot the small red crest, but usually this is not visible.

It’s more nervy in behaviour than the aforementioned cowbird and more likely to be seen taking turns at a fruit feeder with a female, and other tanagers, than walking around calmly on the ground or collecting in groups.

The female is light brown with streaked chest and neck. The lower half of bills of both seem to show an indication of the white patch which is characteristic of many tanagers, such as the Brazilian Tanager.

Below, adult female Ruby-Crowned Tanager visits fruit feeders, shows streaked chest
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Brazil November 2009

Bird name: Brazilian Tanager
Latin: Ramphocelus bresilius
Other: Tiê-sangue (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Brazil: Paraiba to Santa Catarina
Similar:

The male Brazilian Tanager is a very intense red. The above photo has 100% magenta saturation in Photoshop.

The male also has bright white patches on its lower bill which is otherwise black, and dark wings and tail. The female (below) is brown with a buff underside and red patch on rump and dark bill. The immature male (see further below) is like the female but with bright patches of red, especially on face, and white patch on black bill.

The female has no streaking on its chest, unlike the female Ruby-crowned Tanager. The former is also darker above than the latter. Both male and female Brazilian Tanagers have a slight overbite, where the upper bill is a bit longer than the lower.

The Brazilian Tanager is endemic to the southeast coast of Brazil, where it is fairly easy to find, and very easy to spot.

Below, adult female Brazilian Tanager.

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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Brazil 2011

Bird name: Swallow Tanager
Latin: Tersina viridis
Other: Azulejo golondrina, tángara golondrina, tersina/frutero golondrina (Es) • Saí-andorinha (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Panama to Argentina, incl Brazil
Similar:

The male Swallow Tanager is distinguishable by its barred flank, black mask, bright blue colour (above). Females are green and yellow (see below).

The Swallow Tanager can be found throughout much of Brazil and neighbouring countries. This group were seen north of Rio in open country.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Serra dos Tucanos, Brazil • 2011

Bird name: Azure Shouldered Tanager
Latin: Tangara cyanoptera
Other: Sanhaçu-de-encontro-azul (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: SE Brazil - Atlantic forest
Similar: Sayaca Tanager

The Azure-shouldered Tanager is very similar to the Sayaca Tanager, but in practice quite easy to differentiate. It has dusky lores (Sayaca doesn’t) and a bright blue shoulder mark. There is no overlap with Blue-grey Tanager.

Serra dos Tucanos Lodge north of Rio was a good place to see the Azure-shouldered Tanager - it visits the fruit feeders.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Itatiaia, Ubatuba • November 2009

Bird name: Green Headed Tanager
Latin: Tangara seledon
Other: Saíra-sete-cores (Br)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Southeast Brazil - Atlantic Rainforest
Similar: Seven-colored Tanager

The colourful Green Headed Tanager is a frequent visitor to bird tables in the Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlantica) region.

Although the Green-headed Tanager is called Saíra-sete-cores in Portuguese, the English-named “Seven Colored Tanager” is a different bird found in the northeast of Brazil:Tangara fastuosa - Pintor-verdadeiro.

The immature Green Headed Tanager, pictured further below, is predominantly yellow and green.

Below, Green-headed Tanager, Serra dos Tucanos.


Below, juvenile Green Headed Tanager, is predominantly yellow and green.
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Serra dos Tucanos Lodge, September

Bird name: Fawn Breasted Tanager
Latin: Pipraeidea melanonota
Other: Saíra viúva (Br) • Tangara pechianteada (Es)
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay; and SE S America
Similar:

The Fawn-breasted Tanager is buff or orange below with blue upper half and red irises. Found in the Andes and in montane habitats in southern Brazil and bordering countries.

I saw Fawn-breasted Tanagers in Mindo and San Isidro Lodge in Ecuador and at Serra dos Tucanos Lodge in Brazil.

The male Fawn-breasted Tanager has deeper colours than the female and the Brazilian Fawn-breasted Tanager (above, male) apparently had richer colours than the Ecuadorian birds (below).

Below, Fawn Breasted Tanager, Ecuador, March.
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Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Serra dos Tucanos Lodge, September

Bird name: Burnished Buff Tanager
Latin: Tangara cayana
Other: Saíra amarela (Br) • Tangara cayana, pechinegro (Es) • Rufous-crowned Tanager
Family: Thraupidae • Tanagers
Range: Guianas, Venezuela, E Colombia, Paraguay, NE Argentina, Brazil
Similar:

The Burnished Buff Tanager male has a buff body, with black markings below and on face, and turquoise wings. The female (see next page) has less black.

The Burnished Buff Tanager is found in Brazil, to some extent neighbouring countries, and there is a separate population in northern South America. The subspecies in SE Brazil, where these photos were taken, is Tangara cayana flava.

Very subtle colours.

Below, male Burnished Buff Tanager - with flash, Serra do Tucanos Lodge, Brazil


Below, male Burnished Buff Tanager - ssp flava, Ubatuba.

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Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Serra dos Tucanos, September 2011

Bird name: Blue Naped Chlorophonia
Latin: Chlorophonia cyanea
Other: Bonito-do-campo, Bandeirinha (Br) • Tangará bonito (Es)
Family: Fringillidae • Chlorophonias
Range: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Venezuela
Similar:

The riotously colourful Blue Naped Chlorophonia at the Serra dos Tucanos Lodge feeders in September.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Brazil • September 2011 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Long Billed Wren
Latin: Cantorchilus longirostris
Other: Garrinchão de bico grande (Br)
Family: Troglodytidae • Wrens
Range: Eastern Brazil
Similar: Buff Breasted Wren

I saw this Long-Billed Wren late afternoon on the perimeter of the garden of Serra dos Tucanos Lodge, in Rio de Janeiro state on a recent trip.

It had an attractive call and was not quite as furtive as some smaller wrens.More photos...