About Ramphocelus nigrogularis (Spix, 1825)
The masked crimson tanager (Ramphocelus nigrogularis) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is distributed across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical swamps and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. This species was first described by German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825. Its species name comes from the Latin words niger, meaning 'black', and gularis, meaning 'throated'. It is one of nine brightly colored tanager species that make up the genus Ramphocelus. Evidence from mitochondrial DNA shows that its closest relative is the crimson-backed tanager (R. dimidiatus), and the two species split from each other approximately 800,000 years ago. Adult masked crimson tanagers measure 18 to 19 cm (7 to 7.5 in) in length. Adult males have black feathers on the face, wings, mantle, belly and tail, with bright red plumage covering all other parts of the body, and a bill with a silver sheen. Females are similar in appearance to males, but have a brownish belly and overall duller plumage, while juvenile birds are even duller than adult females. This species resembles the vermilion tanager (Calochaetes coccineus), but the vermilion tanager lives at higher altitudes. The masked crimson tanager produces a high-pitched single note that has been variously transcribed as tchlink or "tink", and also sings a simple melody most often heard at dawn. This tanager is found throughout Amazonia and is abundant. It prefers to live near bodies of water including lakes, swamps and rivers, and is generally found at altitudes below 600 m (2,000 ft). Masked crimson tanagers travel in troops of 10 to 12 individuals. This species can form mixed-species flocks with the silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo). It is frugivorous, meaning it feeds primarily on fruit.
