Lanio versicolor
The White-winged Shrike-Tanager (*Lanio versicolor*) is a stunning Neotropical songbird, easily identified by the male's vibrant plumage and distinctive shrike-like bill. Males boast a glossy black head and back, contrasting sharply with brilliant yellow underparts, and a prominent white patch on the wings, conspicuous both at rest and in flight. Measuring approximately 18-20 cm (7-8 inches) in length and weighing 30-40 grams, its stout, hooked bill gives it a predatory appearance, a trait th...
This species primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, including terra firme and várzea forests, secondary growth, and forest borders, typically found below 1,200 meters in elevation.
Primarily insectivorous, consuming a variety of arthropods such as beetles, caterpillars, and orthopterans, often supplemented with small fruits. It forages by gleaning from vegetation and snatching insects in flight.
White-winged Shrike-Tanagers are diurnal and highly active, often observed gleaning insects from foliage and branches within the forest canopy and mid-story. A hallmark of their behavior is their frequent participation in mixed-species foraging flocks, where they often act as a 'nuclear' species,...
The White-winged Shrike-Tanager is endemic to the vast Amazon Basin of South America, with a continuous distribution across several countries. Its breeding and year-round range encompasses southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and western Amazonian Brazil. There ...
Least Concern
- Despite its common name and shrike-like bill, the White-winged Shrike-Tanager is not closely related to true shrikes (family Laniidae); its bill shape is a result of convergent evolution for similar predatory feeding habits. - It is a regular and often central participant in large mixed-species...