Silver-throated Tanager

The silver-throated tanager is an average-sized Tangara tanager, being 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long and weighing 22 grams (0.78 oz) on average. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism, with females being duller than males. The male is mainly bright yellow, with a silvery-white throat bordered above with a black stripe on the cheeks. The back is yellow with black streaking, and the wings and tail are yellow with green edges. The iris is brown, the beak is black, and the feet are gray. Adult females look similar to males, but have duller and greener plumage, and occasional faint dark mottling on the crown. Immatures are much duller and greener, with dusky wings, tail, back streaks and cheek stripe, a grey throat and darker green wing edging. This subadult plumage is kept through to the end of the first breeding season.

Vocalizations. The silver-throated tanager's calls are insect-like buzzes. When foraging or flying, the species has been recorded giving a harsh, buzzy jjeut, or a high-pitched bzeeet. It also gives a high-pitched tic. Its songs have not been described.

It is found from northern Costa Rica through Panama, Colombia, and Peru to southern Ecuador, mainly at elevations of 600–1,800 m (2,000–5,900 ft), but occasionally from 0–2,300 m (0–7,546 ft). It inhabits mossy forests, montane forests, tropical lowland evergreen forests and forest edges, along with tall secondary forests. It also inhabits disturbed habitats with remnant trees and forest. It has been observed in clearings with fruit trees next to forests in Costa Rica, but rarely leaves forested habitat in Colombia.

Silver-throated tanagers forage in pairs, small groups, or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. Flocks of silver-throated tanagers consist of 3–5 individuals, and up to 12 individuals may be present in mixed-species flocks with other tanagers, vireos, and wood warblers. Mated pairs of the species are present year-round, but become looser after the end of the breeding season in November to December. Individuals have been observed bathing themselves in water that had collected in areas such as hollows in tree branches.

Diet. Silver-throated tanagers are omnivorous, mainly feeding on fruit and supplementing their diet with arthropods. The main fruits eaten are melastomes, especially those from the genus Miconia. It has also been observed feeding on fruits of Souroubea guianensis. Arthropods form a greater percentage of the diet during the breeding season. Silver-throated tanagers forage in the canopy, mostly perching on or hanging from upside-down branches to eat small fruit. In Colombia, foraging occurs in the crowns of trees and shrubs at an average height of 8.5 m (28 ft) and rarely below 3 m (9.8 ft), but foraging occurs closer to the ground in Costa Rica. Foraging for arthropods occurs on thin moss-covered branches. They move quickly from branch to branch, and move in sprints down the branch while looking for arthropods. …