Scarlet-rumped Tanager Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Size & shape: A medium-sized tanager, about 17–18 cm, with a fairly stout, pale-based bill.
• Male plumage: Mostly glossy black with a bright, glowing scarlet or orange-red rump patch that is very conspicuous, especially in flight; bill shows a pale silvery-blue base.
• Female plumage: Olive-brown overall with a duller orange-red or dusky-orange rump — much less bright than the male but the rump patch is still a useful clue.
• Behavior in the field: Often first noticed as a black bird with a flash of red at the base of the tail as it flits through foliage.

Separating It From Similar Species

• This species includes forms sometimes treated separately as Passerini's Tanager (Caribbean slope) and Cherrie's Tanager (Pacific slope) — both share the same black-body/red-rump pattern and are best told apart by range rather than plumage.
• Compared with other black tanagers, the combination of a solidly black body and a sharply contrasting bright rump (not the whole underside) is diagnostic.
• Female Summer or Hepatic Tanagers lack any contrasting rump patch and are more uniformly reddish or olive.

Habitat, Range & Season

• Found from southern Mexico through Central America to western Panama and northwestern Colombia (depending on taxonomy used), in forest edge, second growth, shrubby clearings, and gardens from lowlands to mid-elevations.
• Common and conspicuous resident, often in pairs or small family groups; frequently visits fruit feeders and gardens.

Behavior

• Feeds on small fruits and berries, gleaned from shrubs and trees at low to mid heights, and also takes insects.
• Forms loose social groups and is often one of the most easily seen tanagers in gardens and edge habitats within its range.

Voice

• Call is a sharp, dry "chip" or "chuk," often repeated.
• Song is a husky, warbled series of notes, less musical than many other tanagers.