Chestnut-headed Tanager Thlypopsis pyrrhocoma Scientific name definitions

This distinctively plumaged tanager of the Atlantic Forest biome is found from southeast Brazil, where it is definitely rather uncommon at the northern end of its range, south to northeast Argentina and eastern Paraguay. To some extent, northern populations might move inland in winter, and there have also been suggestions that the species might be dependent on bamboo patches, but definitive data concerning possible movements are lacking. The species appears to be generally skulking and usually remains rather close above the ground. Sexually dimorphic, males are largely grayish-colored with a deep chestnut head and an obvious but small blackish mask, whereas females are mainly olive-colored above, becoming slightly paler below and on the face, with a dull rufous cap. Fortunately, pairs seem to generally remain in close proximity, facilitating identification of the less-obvious females.

NE Argentina (Misiones) and SE Paraguay E to SE Brazil (Espírito Santo S to C Rio Grande do Sul); also recorded in NE Goiás (2 Lees, A.C. (2013). First records of Chestnut-headed Tanager Pyrrhocoma ruficeps from Goiás, central Brazil. Cotinga 35: 130–131. Close ) and SW Minas Gerais (3 Vasconcelos, M. F., S. D’Angelo Neto, G. M. Kirwan, M. R. Bornschein, M. G. Diniz, and J. F. Silva, (2006). Important ornithological records from Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 126(3):212–238. Close ) where status unknown.