White-lined Tanager

The White-lined Tanager, Tachyphonus rufus, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago.

It occurs in semi-open areas including gardens. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree or shrub, and the female incubates three, sometimes two, brown-blotched cream eggs for 14-15 days.

Adult White-lined Tanagers are 18.5cm long and weigh 33g. They are long-tailed and with a mostly black stout pointed bill. The adult male is glossy black, apart from white underwing coverts and a small white patch on the upperwing. These white areas are conspicuous in flight but otherwise rarely visible. Females and immatures are entirely rufous in plumage, somewhat paler below.

These are restless but unwary birds which eat a wide variety of fruit, but especially epiphytes. They also take some nectar and insects, including beetles, ants and grasshoppers.

The White-lined Tanager’s song is a fast repetitive cheeru.

References

• Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
• Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by ffrench, ISBN 0-7136-6759-1