The scarlet-and-white tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia and northern Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The male is highly distinctive and has bright scarlet upperparts, darker red wings and undertail coverts, and white underparts with a scarlet median stripe running down the throat and belly. Females are patterned like the males, but are olive-brown instead of scarlet.
Region
Chocó–Magdalena region, northwestern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from western Colombia south into northwestern Ecuador, primarily in humid lowland and foothill forests. It frequents forest edges, clearings with tall trees, riverine corridors, and heavily degraded former forest. Birds typically forage in the midstory to canopy, often at fruiting trees. The species is most numerous in intact and semi-open forest mosaics, but can persist in secondary growth.
Altitude Range
0–1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Males are unmistakable with blazing scarlet upperparts and white underparts bisected by a scarlet median stripe. The species often joins mixed-species flocks in the canopy and edge of humid forests. It tolerates second growth and degraded forest better than many Chocó endemics, which helps it persist in fragmented landscapes.
A plate from Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum 11, depicting the type female scarlet-and-white tanager
A male with a flower in its beak in Colombia
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically seen in pairs or small family groups and readily joins mixed-species flocks, especially in the canopy. Nests are likely cup-shaped and placed in shrubs or trees, with both parents involved in care. Territoriality is modest, with birds ranging along forest edges and fruiting trees.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include thin, high-pitched tseet notes and short twitters. The song is a soft, rapid series of chips and trills, often delivered from mid-canopy perches.
Plumage
Male with bright scarlet head and upperparts, darker red wings and undertail coverts, and clean white underparts marked by a narrow scarlet stripe down the throat and belly. Female patterned like the male but olive-brown replaces scarlet, with paler whitish underparts and a subdued median stripe. Both sexes have neat, compact plumage suited to canopy foraging.
Diet
Eats small fruits and berries along with insects and other arthropods. It gleans from leaves and twigs, probes into clusters of foliage, and occasionally sallies to catch flying prey. At fruiting trees it may forage alongside other tanagers, honeycreepers, and flycatchers.
Preferred Environment
Primarily forages in the midstory and canopy of humid lowland forest, edges, and secondary growth. Frequently visits fruiting trees along forest margins, clearings, and river borders.
