White-banded Tanager

The plumage of the shrike-like tanager is remarkably similar to that of several species of shrikes in the genus Lanius, but these Corvoidea are quite distantly related songbirds. Males and females of this species look alike. It has a total length of about 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) and weighs 29–32 g.

It is a bird native to the interior of south-central South America at elevations of 550–1,100 m (1,800–3,610 ft). It is restricted to Cerrado, woodland and shrub of central-eastern Brazil, north-eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Bolivia. It is frequently seen in Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Typically seen in pairs or small groups of up to 12 individuals, with 7 being average. Eats insects. Breeds in October and November. The deep, cup-shaped nest, typically placed in a small tree or bush, is lined with grasses. Clutch size 2–3 eggs. The pair are often helped by birds from earlier broods, which have the grey parts of the plumage partially or entirely replaced by brown (this brownish plumage sometimes mistakenly referred to as the adult female plumage).