Speckled Tanager

     Central and South America are home to a stunning array of tanagers, perhaps one of the most diverse and superbly colourful families in the avian world. Costa Rica is blessed with a wonderful selection of these amazing birds. Many of them are easy to see since they readily come to feeding stations, especially those with bananas to which many of them seem to be especially attracted.
     When we stayed at Las Cruces Biological Station at San Vito in the southern part of the country, Speckled Tanager Tangara gutta was a predictable patron of the feeders there. 

     Interestingly this species lives in families or small groups and is rarely seen alone, so once one bird is sighted others are sure to put in an appearance too. Furthermore, it travels with mixed flocks of other tanagers, so a Speckled Tanager at your feeder likely means that other species will soon be joining them.     

     

Silver-throated Tanager Tangara icterocephala

     Many of the observations of breeding birds were done by Alexander Skutch (see earlier post) and it was found that the birds nest from 3 - 7.6 metres off the ground in a tall bush. Both sexes participate in building  a compact open cup made of leaves and rootlets. 

     It's a wonderful bird to see with all the charisma one might expect from a tropical species. I hope that all of you will one day be able to experience a mixed flock of tanagers with a Speckled Tanager as one of the star attractions.