Ramphocelus dimidiatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The crimson-backed tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela, and introduced to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. A nickname in Panama is sangre de toro ("Blood of the bull").
The crimson-backed tanager was first described by French naturalist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1837. It is one of nine species of brightly coloured tanagers of the genus Ramphocelus. Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates its closest relative is the masked crimson tanager (R. nigrogularis), and the two split around 800,000 years ago.
Measuring around 18 cm (7.1 in) in length, the adult male has a silver sheen on its lower mandible. Its whole head and chest are a maroon red, brightening to a bright red on its lower back and abdomen. Its wings and tail are black. The female is duller with blackish underparts.
It is found in northern and western Colombia (south to Chocó where it is uncommon), the Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela, and over most of Panama, where it extends to Chiriquí and Veraguas Provinces in the west of the country, as well as Coiba, where it is abundant, and Pearl Islands. It inhabits forest, scrub and gardens.
A nest with a clutch of two blue eggs with fine dark dots has been recorded. A field study on blood parasites found that two individual crimson-backed tanagers (out of twelve tested) bore Plasmodium, with the study concluding the overall rate was low compared with studies done elsewhere. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | San Lorenzo Protected Forest | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Utría National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 4 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Tanager sighting in Coiba National Park on a given day, based on 119 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, April and July
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Tanager in Coiba National Park on a given day, against about 50% in September and November–December, the lowest months. May and October have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crimson-backed Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Crimson-backed Tanager sightings, Coiba National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%. The best odds are in Chagres National Park (Panama, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Crimson-backed Tanager that you can see in Coiba National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Bananaquit (about 60%), Red-legged Honeycreeper (about 30%) and Yellow-faced Grassquit (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crimson-backed Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Coiba National Park (119 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
