Piranga bidentata
The Flame-colored Tanager (Piranga bidentata) is a striking passerine bird, renowned for its brilliant plumage and distinctive markings. Males are a vibrant fiery orange to scarlet, contrasting sharply with their black wings and tail, which are adorned with two prominent white wing bars. Females present a more subdued but still beautiful yellow-orange coloration, also featuring the characteristic black wings and tail with white wing bars, though sometimes less distinct. Measuring approximatel...
Primarily inhabits humid montane pine-oak, evergreen, and cloud forests, favoring mid to high elevations typically between 1,000 and 3,000 meters.
Feeds primarily on insects, including caterpillars, beetles, ants, and wasps, supplemented by a significant portion of fruits and berries, especially during the non-breeding season.
Flame-colored Tanagers are diurnal and active foragers, often seen singly or in pairs during the breeding season. They employ various foraging strategies, gleaning insects from foliage and bark in the mid-canopy and understory, and also making aerial sallies to catch flying insects. Males are hig...
The Flame-colored Tanager's primary breeding and resident range extends through the mountainous regions of Mexico, from Sonora and Chihuahua south through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental, and across the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Its distribution continues southward through Central Ame...
Least Concern
- The Flame-colored Tanager was once grouped with the 'true tanagers' (family Thraupidae) but genetic research has reclassified it into the Cardinalidae family, alongside cardinals and grosbeaks. - Its scientific name, *Piranga bidentata*, translates to 'two-toothed Piranga,' referring to small t...