Rosita Canora
Rosy thrush-tanager
Rhodinocochlidae rosea
Song
Rosy Thrush-tanager
Appearance: The Rosy Thrush-tanager is a striking, medium-sized bird with a long tail and strong bill. The male is dark gray to blackish above, with brilliant rose-red or magenta on the throat, breast, belly, and crown area, plus a pale pinkish or whitish eyebrow stripe. The female is duller, usually brownish or grayish above with warmer buff or orangish underparts instead of the male’s bright red. Its shape and behavior make it look somewhat like a thrush, though it is not a true thrush.
Habitat: It lives mostly in dense low vegetation, forest undergrowth, thickets, scrub, forest edges, tropical dry forest, moist lowland forest, and degraded former forest. It is often easier to hear than to see because it stays hidden in thick cover near the ground.
Behavior: This bird is shy and secretive, usually found alone or in pairs. It forages mostly on or near the ground, moving through dense undergrowth and turning over leaves with its bill. Its diet is not fully studied, but it eats insects and other small invertebrates, including beetles, ants, spiders, and also some seeds; one record even notes it eating a frog. Pairs may sing in loud duets.
Breeding: The breeding biology is still not completely known. The nest is a bowl made of leaves, supported by coarse sticks, and usually placed low in a dense thicket. Known clutches contain two or three eggs, which are whitish with dark markings. Both male and female help incubate, brood, and feed the young.
Conservation Status: The Rosy Thrush-tanager is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN/BirdLife International.
MALE
FEMALE
Distribution
The Rosy Thrush-tanager is found mainly in the Caribbean and northern lowland regions, especially in dry or semi-humid forest and dense scrub. It is known from areas such as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, the Caribbean lowlands, and the Serranía del Perijá / Cesar area.
Taxonomy
The Rosy Thrush-tanager (Rhodinocichla rosea)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Rhodinocichlidae
- Genus: Rhodinocichla
- Species: rosea
Vocalization
Duet: Pairs often sing in duet, with the male and female trading different phrases back and forth. This duet can sound lively, rolling, and almost conversational.
Contact Calls: Shorter call notes include sounds described as “chowk,” “hu-weep,” and “queo.” These calls are probably used to keep contact between birds in thick vegetation or to signal mild alarm.
Alarm Calls: When disturbed or responding to playback, the Rosy Thrush-tanager may give sharper, repeated call notes. Because it stays hidden in dense scrub, these calls are often heard before the bird is seen.
Simple Song: Some recordings describe a repeated vocalization that seems to function as a simple song, given for several minutes from cover. This may be a less elaborate song than the full duet.
