Mitrospingus Cassinii

The dusky-faced tanager (''Mitrospingus cassinii'') is a species of bird in the family Mitrospingidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.Ocampo, D. and A. Montoya (2020). Dusky-faced Tanager (''Mitrospingus cassinii''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.duftan1.01 retrieved May 13, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The dusky-faced tanager and the three other species in family Mitrospingidae were previously placed in family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. A 2013 publication detailed how they did not belong there and proposed the new family for them. The North and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society accepted the new placement in July 2017 and March 2019, respectively.R. Terry Chesser, Kevin J. Burns, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Irby J. Lovette, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., James D. Rising, Douglas F. Stotz, and Kevin Winker. "Fifty-eighth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s ''Check-list of North American Birds''". ''The Auk'' 2017, vol. 134:751-773 retrieved July 7, 2017Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021 The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) followed suit in January 2018.

The dusky-faced tanager has two subspecies, the nominate ''Mitrospingus cassinii cassinii'' and ''M. c. costaricensis''.

Description

The two subspecies are "very poorly differentiated." The adults are long and weigh . Their crown and nape are mustard yellow. The face has a large black "mask". Their upper parts are lead gray. The throat is light gray transitioning to olive yellow on the breast and flanks and further to a gray-olive-yellow blend on the belly. The juvenile is similar but has less yellow on the crown and a buffy tinge to the underparts.

Distribution and habitat

The dusky-faced tanager of subspecies ''M. c. costaricensis'' is found along the Caribbean coast from Costa Rica's Heredia Province south to extreme northwestern Panama. The nominate is found on both slopes of western Panama south through western Colombia to Guayas Province in Ecuador. It also occurs on the east slope of Colombia's Central Andes.

The dusky-face tanager inhabits low dense shrubbery, thickets, and second growth. It is found along forest edges, gaps in forest, and along forest streams and swampy areas. In Costa Rica it generally ranges up to but can be found up to . Its upper limit in Panama is . In Colombia it is mostly below though it has been recorded up to . In Ecuador it can be found as high as .

Behavior

Feeding

The dusky-faced tanager appears to primarily eat fruits, though it also eats insects and seeds.

Breeding

The dusky-faced tanager's breeding phenology has not been thoroughly studied. Breeding or breeding-condition birds have been recorded between March and May from Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. Two well-described nests were cups suspended in shrubs. The apparent clutch size is two, and nestlings were attended by at least three adults.

Vocalization

The dusky-faced tanager's dawn song is "''seety'', ''seety'', ''seety'', ''seety'', ''seety''

They chatter all day long with "sputtering notes such as ''chet'' or ''chet-ut''

Status

The IUCN has assessed the dusky-faced tanager as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and the population appears to be stable. It occurs in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1590528

dusky-faced tanager
Birds of Costa Rica
Birds of Panama
Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena
Birds of Colombia
dusky-faced tanager
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot