''Tangara '' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of birds of the

tanager 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 ...

family. It includes 27 species. All are from the

Neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

s, and while most are fairly widespread, some have small distributions and are

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

. They are fairly small, ranging in size from . This genus includes some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the world.

Taxonomy and species list

The genus ''Tangara'' was introduced by the French zoologist

Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...

in 1760 with the paradise tanager (''Tangara chilensis'') as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. The name means "dancer" in the extinct

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to the ...

. The genus formerly included additional species. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2014 found that many of the members of ''

Thraupis ''Thraupis'' is a genus of birds of the tanager family occurring from Mexico to Argentina and Brazil. Some are familiar species with large ranges. In Brazil it's called Pipira-azul ''(''pronn'': peepeeră, æzoól'') when it has a tone blue col ...

'' was embedded within ''Tangara''. In the reorganization to create

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

genera, rather than merging ''Thraupis'' into ''Tangara'' to create an unusually large genus with around 58 species, taxonomists chose to split off species from ''Tangara'' into four other genera. Two of these genera were newly erected (''

Stilpnia ''Stilpnia'' is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. Many of these tanagers have a contrasting cap or hood and most have green or gold and throats. Taxonomy and species list These species were formerly placed in the g ...

'', ''

Poecilostreptus ''Poecilostreptus'' is a genus of birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. Taxonomy and species list These species were formerly placed in the genus '' Tangara''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that ''Tangara'' was polyp ...

'') and two were resurrected: they had been introduced earlier but were not in use ('' Ixothraupis'', '' Chalcothraupis''). The genus now contains 28

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Distribution and habitat

These tanagers are mainly found high in forest canopies, but some occupy more open habitat. They are found at all elevations below

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

but are most diverse in the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

subtropical and foothill forests of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The female builds a usually well concealed cup nest and lays two brown- or lilac-speckled white eggs. These hatch in 13–14 days and the chicks fledge in a further 15–16 days. The male and female feed the nestlings on insects and fruit, and may be assisted by helpers.

Food and feeding

''Tangara'' tanagers pick insects from leaves, or sometimes in flight, but fruit is a major dietary item, accounting for 53-86% of food items in those species which have been studied.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Bird genera