Flame-crested Tanager

Flame-crested Tanager

Loriotus cristatus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Rio de Janeiro

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

253 Verified sightings at Rio de Janeiro
1,329 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Flame-crested Tanager

The flame-crested tanager (Loriotus cristatus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the flame-crested tanager in the supplement to his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Cayenne, which was the contemporary name for French Guiana. He used the French name Le tangara noir hupé de Cayenne and the Latin name Tangara cayanensis nigra cristata. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognized by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson in his Ornithologie. One of these was the flame-crested tanager. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Tanagra cristata, and cited Brisson's work.

The flame-crested tanager's further taxonomy is complicated. In 1869, August von Pelzeln assigned... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:42

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1162288 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Canto0:42

Brazil · 2019

© Caio Brito · XC556618 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:30

Ecuador · 1994

© Mitch Lysinger · XC261235 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
2 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
4 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
5 Brownsberg Nature Park 🇸🇷 Suriname
~10%
6 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
7 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
8 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
9 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
10 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
11 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
12 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Santos 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 João Pessoa 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Flame-crested Tanager in Rio de Janeiro?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Flame-crested Tanager sighting in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, based on 253 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 80th most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Flame-crested Tanager in Rio de Janeiro?

April to December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Flame-crested Tanager in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, against under 5% in January to March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Flame-crested Tanager?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Flame-crested Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Rio de Janeiro the best place to see a Flame-crested Tanager?

Yes

Of the 4 cities where we can rate Flame-crested Tanager sightings, Rio de Janeiro has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Santos (Brazil, under 5%) and João Pessoa (Brazil, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Flame-crested Tanager live in Rio de Janeiro?

Same family: Thraupidae

The closest relatives of the Flame-crested Tanager that you can see in Rio de Janeiro (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Palm Tanager (about 80%), Bananaquit (about 80%) and Sayaca Tanager (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Flame-crested Tanager sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Flame-crested Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Rio de Janeiro (253 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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