Bangsia aureocincta
The Gold-ringed Tanager (*Bangsia aureocincta*) is a captivating, medium-sized passerine, instantly recognizable by its striking plumage and extreme rarity. Measuring approximately 15-16 cm (6 inches) in length and weighing around 24-28 grams, both sexes exhibit a glossy black head, back, and wings, sharply contrasted by a brilliant golden-yellow breast, belly, and undertail coverts. Its most distinctive field mark, giving the species its name, is a prominent, complete golden-yellow collar or...
This specialized tanager inhabits humid, moss-laden montane cloud forests and very wet foothill forests, primarily between 1,000 and 2,200 meters elevation.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on small arthropods like spiders and insects gleaned from foliage, supplemented with small fruits and berries.
The Gold-ringed Tanager is a diurnal species, typically active from dawn to dusk, often found foraging high in the canopy or mid-story. It is most frequently observed as part of active mixed-species foraging flocks, alongside other tanagers, warblers, and often antpittas, moving swiftly through t...
The Gold-ringed Tanager is endemic to a highly restricted and fragmented range within the humid montane forests of the Chocó Biogeographic Region in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. In Colombia, its primary stronghold is found in the Western Andes, particularly in the departments of Cho...
Critically Endangered
- The Gold-ringed Tanager is so rare and elusive that for decades after its discovery, it was known only from a handful of museum specimens, leading some to fear it was extinct. - It is a flagship species for the conservation of the highly threatened Chocó Biogeographic Region, a global biodivers...