White-winged Tanager - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by PanamaHarpy
Boquete, Panama

Piranga leucoptera

Identification

Male red with black mask, tail, and wings (with two white wing-bars). Female has similar tail and wings but body is yellow to greenish.

Distribution

Central and South America
Central America: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
South America: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela, Brazil.

Female
Photo by Michael W
Milpe Bird Sanctuary, western foothills, Ecuador, March 2007

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Four subspecies are recognized:

• P.l. leucoptera:

• Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas) to Nicaragua

• P.l. latifasciata:

• Costa Rica and western Panama (east to Veraguas)

• P.l. venezuelae:

• Andes of Colombia to Venezuela and northern Brazil

• P.l. ardens:

• Andes of extreme south-western Colombia (Nariño) to north-western Bolivia

This species is placed in genus Spermagra by some authorities.

Young male moulting into adult plumage
Photo by Jose Ramon
Between San Isidro and Wildsumaco, Ecuador, November 2014

Habitat

Moist lowland forests and montanes.

Behaviour

Varies from being alone to often in mixed species flocks.

Diet

Forages for a variety of foods including invertebrates, fruits, and seeds.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-winged Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-winged_Tanager

External Links

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