The rose-throated tanager (''Piranga roseogularis'') is a medium-sized

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

in the family

Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (often referred to as the "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a family of New World-endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several birds such as the tanager-like ...

, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. Endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Central America, it is found in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

.Hilty, S. (2020). Rose-throated Tanager (''Piranga roseogularis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rottan1.01 retrieved May 15, 2021 The male has greyish plumage with a deep rose throat and crown, while the female is similar but for a yellow crown and throat.

Taxonomy and systematics

American ornithologist

Samuel Cabot III Samuel Cabot III (September 20, 1815 – April 13, 1885) was an American physician, surgeon, and ornithologist, as well as a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family. Early life Samuel Cabot III was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Sept ...

described the rose-throated tanager in 1846, having seen a pair in the Yucatán Peninsula and shooting the male. A 2019 genetic study using

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

showed that it was a basal (early offshoot) of a lineage that gave rise to the scarlet,

hepatic The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it i ...

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

flame-colored tanager The flame-colored tanager (''Piranga bidentata''), formerly known as the stripe-backed tanager, is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found from Mexico throughout Central Am ...

s. The rose-throated tanager and the other species of genus ''Piranga'' were originally placed in the family

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

, the "true" tanagers. Since approximately 2008 they have been placed in their current family, the Cardinalidae.Remsen, 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, 2021R. Terry Chesser, Richard C. Banks, F. Keith Barker, 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. "Fiftieth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s ''Check-list of North American Birds''". ''The Auk'' 2009, vol. 126:705–714 retrieved May 15, 2021 The rose-throated tanager has three recognized subspecies, the nominate ''Piranga roseogularis roseogularis'', ''P. r. tincta'', and ''P. r. cozumelae''.

Description

The rose-throated tanager is long and weighs . The nominate male's crown and throat are deep rose and the rest of the body shades of gray. The folded wings and tail appear crimson. The female's crown and throat are yellow. The upper parts are yellowish olive and the underparts mostly pale gray to whitish. Its folded wings and tail are yellowish. ''P. r. tincta'' has the same color schemes as the nominate but is paler, and ''P. r. cozumelae'' is darker.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate rose-throated tanager is found in the northern, drier, part of Mexico's

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

. ''P. r. tincta'' is found in the more humid southern part of the peninsula and in northern Guatemala and Belize. ''P. r. cozumelae'' is restricted to the islands of Mujeres and

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

off the east coast of the peninsula. The species primarily inhabits the edges of semi-humid and humid mature forest and the undergrowth of scrubby forest, although it sometimes is found in areas with scrub and only scattered trees. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Feeding

The rose-throated tanager forages throughout most levels of the forest, in undergrowth, saplings, mid-level, and the canopy. In the last it often joins

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

s. It has also been observed following

army ant The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limit ...

swarms. Details of its diet have not been published.

Breeding

No information on the rose-throated tanager's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

has been published.

Vocalization

The rose-throated tanager's song is "a rich warbled 'whee chee cheer-el-chee cheer-el-cheu chee-el-chu.... Calls include a nasal "rreh" and a mewing "myaaa".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the rose-throated tanager as being of Least Concern. "Although portions of the area within its range are subject to considerable human-caused environmental pressures, the species does not appear to be at any immediate risk."

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3114676

rose-throated tanager The rose-throated tanager (''Piranga roseogularis'') is a medium-sized songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. Endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Central America, it is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. ...

Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds of Belize

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot