Lanio leucothorax
The White-throated Shrike-Tanager (Lanio leucothorax) is a strikingly marked, medium-sized Neotropical passerine, typically measuring 16-17 cm (6.3-6.7 in) in length and weighing 27-33 grams. Males sport a crisp white throat and upper breast, contrasting sharply with an olive-green back, dusky wings and tail, and vibrant yellow to orange-yellow flanks and belly. A powerful, dark, hooked, shrike-like bill is a distinctive field mark, giving the species its common name, despite being a true tan...
Found primarily in the canopy and subcanopy of humid evergreen forests. This species inhabits both lowlands and foothills, typically up to elevations of 1,500 meters (5,000 feet).
Primarily insectivorous, consuming a wide array of arthropods such as beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and spiders. It occasionally supplements its diet with small fruits.
The White-throated Shrike-Tanager is a diurnal and highly active bird, often participating in mixed-species foraging flocks from early morning to late afternoon. It employs a diverse foraging strategy, gleaning arthropods from foliage and branches, as well as sallying out to catch flying insects ...
The White-throated Shrike-Tanager is a resident species distributed across disjunct regions of Central and South America. The nominate subspecies, *Lanio leucothorax leucothorax*, inhabits the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica and Panama, extending into northwestern Colombia. The subspecies *L. l. li...
Least Concern
- The White-throated Shrike-Tanager is a crucial "nuclear species" in many Neotropical mixed-species foraging flocks, acting as a leader that other species follow through the forest. - Despite its "shrike-tanager" name, it belongs to the true Tanager family (Thraupidae), and its shrike-like bill ...