white-capped tanager
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image= Sericossypha albocristata Pollo de monte White-capped Tanager (11198141456).jpg
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| parent_authority = Lesson, 1844
| taxon = Sericossypha albocristata
| authority = (Lafresnaye, 1843)
| range_map = Sericossypha albocristata map.svg
}}
The white-capped tanager (Sericossypha albocristata) is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Sericossypha. It is the heaviest but not the longest species of tanager, at a weight of 114 g (4 oz) and a length of 24 cm (9.5 in). This species is glossy black overall with a large white crown and a red throat (which is brightest in adult males). It occurs in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru at elevations of 1600–3200 m. It lives in humid Andean forest in groups of up to 20 individuals. Flocks of these tanagers stay in tight formation, often foraging from tree to tree together. They may eat fruits, seeds, hymenoptera, and coleoptera.
Taxonomy
The white-capped tanager was formally described in 1843 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye under the Latin name Tangara (Lamprotes) albo-cristatus.{{ cite journal | last=de Lafresnaye | first=Frédéric | author-link=Frédéric de Lafresnaye | year=1843 | title=Description de quelques oiseaux nouveaux de Colombie | language=French | journal=Revue Zoologique | volume=6 | pages=131–133 [132] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2271224 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1970 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=13 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=254 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483489 }} The species is now the only species placed in the genus Sericossypha that was introduced in 1844 by René Lesson.{{ cite journal | last=Lesson | first=René | author-link=René Lesson | year=1844 | title=Catalogue des oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus de la collection Abeillé | language=French | journal=L'Echo du Monde Savant | volume=Part 2 | at=Col. 302 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47082915 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2020 | title=Tanagers and allies | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/tanagers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=22 November 2020 }} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek sērikos meaning "silken" with kossuphos meaning "blackbird". The specific epithet albocristata is formed from the Latin albus meaning "white" with cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=39, 354 }} The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
See also
- Magpie tanager – the longest species in the tanager family
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Birds of the Northern Andes
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