Purplish-mantled tanager

Iridosornis porphyrocephalus

Photo by Nick Athanas (Antpitta)

Common name:
purplish-mantled tanager (en); sanhaçu-de-barrete-azul (pt); tangara à cape bleue (fr); tangara capiazul (es); purpurmanteltangare (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thraupidae

Range:
This species is found along the Pacific slopes of the Andes in western Colombia as far north as Chocó and south to north-western Ecuador. Also on the Central Andes of Colombia in Antioquia.

Size:
These birds are 14 cm long and weigh 20-23 g.

Habitat:
The purplish-mantled tanager is found in the undergrowth of humid mossy rainforests, forest borders and nearby tall second growths. They occur at altitudes of 1.500-2.200 m.

Diet:
They feed on berries and insects, sometimes joining mixed foraging flocks with other tanagers.

Breeding:
The purplish-mantled tanager may breed in May-July. There is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a relatively large, but somewhat fragmented breeding range. Although
the global population size has not been quantified, the purplish-mantled tanager is described as uncommon and believed to be declining at a slow to moderate rate due to habitat loss and degradation.