Thlypopsis sordida
The Orange-headed Tanager (Thlypopsis sordida) is a striking yet often inconspicuous passerine bird found across a significant portion of South America. Measuring approximately 12.5-13.5 cm (5 inches) in length and weighing around 12-16 grams, males boast a vibrant orange head, contrasting sharply with a slate-gray back and wings, and pristine white underparts. A key field mark is this distinct three-tone plumage, making it identifiable despite its sometimes retiring nature. Females are subtl...
This tanager primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, forest edges, clearings with scattered trees, secondary growth, and riverine forest, often near water sources. It is found from sea level up to elevations of approximately 1500 meters.
Its primary diet consists of insects and other small arthropods, which it gleans from foliage. It also supplements its diet with small fruits and berries.
The Orange-headed Tanager is a diurnal bird, active throughout the day foraging and moving through the canopy and subcanopy. It often forages solitarily or in pairs, though it may join mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season, moving agilely through foliage. Its foraging strategy involves...
The Orange-headed Tanager has a wide and generally continuous distribution across much of central and eastern South America. Its breeding range covers southern Peru, northern and eastern Bolivia, most of central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and extending into extreme northeastern Argentina (Mis...
Least Concern
- Despite its vibrant orange head, the Orange-headed Tanager is often considered one of the more inconspicuous tanagers, frequently blending into the dappled light of the forest edge. - It belongs to the genus *Thlypopsis*, which translates to "thrush-like vision" or "thrush-like appearance," hin...