Black-capped Tanager

The black-capped tanager is approximately 13 centimetres (5 in) long, and weighs between 18 and 20 grams. The bird's iris is dark brown, while the beak and legs are black. The male of the species has a black crown, with the black extending to the lores, forehead, and upper nape. Its upper-parts are a shining silvery bluish-grey, which extends to the upper tail coverts, and contrasts sharply with the black crown. The upperwing-coverts are a duller bluish-grey, with an edging of duller blue, whereas the primary coverts are black, with a dull blue edge paler than that of the wing coverts. The tertial feathers are also black with a blue outer edge. The throat, the sides of the neck, the sides of the head until the eye, and the chest are a shining aquamarine-green or opalescent green. The feathers are lanceolate, or spear-shaped. Their black bases are thus visible, giving this area of the bird a streaked or scaly appearance, which is especially visible on the chest. The rest of the underparts are a dull and uniform greyish-blue, with the exception of the undertail-coverts: these feathers have dark centers and broad, white edges. The female, in contrast, has a dusky crown, the feathers of which are edged in green, giving it a slightly scaly appearance. It is also generally duller than the male. …

Black-capped tanagers are found in tropical moist montane forests in northern Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The species is found at the edges of subtropical forest, secondary woodland, and trees and bushes in nearby open spaces, although it is locally uncommon. Its elevational range is variously described as being between 1,300 and 2,200 metres (4,300 and 7,200 ft), and between 1,000 and 2,800 metres (3,300 and 9,200 ft) above sea level, although most records occur between 1,500 and 2,200 metres (4,900 and 7,200 ft). An isolated record exists from 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level. It is found in the Colombian, Venezuelan, Ecuadoran, and Peruvian Andes, including in the Sierra de Perijá, and also in the Santa Marta mountains in Colombia. Within Ecuador, it was first recorded on the western slopes of the Andes only in 1980, leading researchers to suggest it may have expanded its range as a result of deforestation.

This tanager is found alone or in pairs, hiding under branches. Its behaviour and ecology are generally similar to other species of montane Tangara, though it is more often seen foraging in clearings and outside actual forest, and more often foraging as pairs independent of mixed flocks.

Diet. Different tanager species can feed together in the same flock without competing for arthropods as they each feed at specific heights, on different parts of the tree with unique positions and movements. The black-capped tanager mainly forages for insects in low shrubs and in trees, staying close to the trunk, on branches that are either bare or covered in moss. This bird also eats fruits such as whole berries and cecropia fruit.

Reproduction. Usually during wetter periods, both parents feed their young and build the nest. Nevertheless, the male does not always take part in nest construction. The outside of the nest is mostly made of rootlets and lichen, sometimes moss. The whole is held together by spider webs and egg sacs. The inside of the nest contains mainly lichen, rootlets, and grass strips. In order to give the nest its cup-like shape, the female presses her body down into the nest and vibrates. The female incubates the eggs for 14 days on average and broods, meanwhile the male will occasionally feed her. …