General Information

The Silver-beaked Tanager as well as the Paradise Tanager are both medium-sized passerine birds.

Physical Description

Silver-beaked Tanagers are 18 cm long and weigh 25 g. Adult males are velvety crimson black with a deep crimson throat and breast. The upper mandible of the bill is black, but the enlarged lower mandible is bright silver in appearance. The bill is pointed upwards in display. The female is much duller, with brownish upperparts, reddish brown underparts and a black bill.The Paradise Tanager has dark outerparts and a bright turquoise belly. Its head is masked with bright green and its wings are quite colorful varying from red to yellowThere is considerable plumage variation between the various subspecies, differing mainly in the degree of contrast between the upperparts and the throat and breast.

Diet

These are social birds which eat mainly fruit, but will consume insects as well. The Silver-beaked Tanager is often seen in groups of six to ten during feeding, frequently giving a call described as, "cheeng".

Habitat

The Silver-beaked tanager is a resident breeder in South America. It ranges from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, and onto Trinidad. It is common and conspicuous in some areas and may be the bird most often heard and seen in Suriname. The Paradise Tanager is found in South America and are fairly widespread. It can be seen in Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and the upper parts of the Amazon. Paradise Tanagers are also found in the lower Amazon Basin, in the northeast, and adjacent to the Guyanas.

Reproduction

The Tanagers occur in light woodland and cultivation. They build a bulky cup nest which is usually nestled in a bush or shrubbery. The normal clutch is two green-blue eggs spotted with blackish brown. The female incubates the eggs for 11-12 days to hatching, with about the same time again before the chicks fledge.