Tangara xanthocephala
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The saffron-crowned tanager (Tangara xanthocephala) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. Found in the northern Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, it inhabits cloud forest, forest edges, and secondary forest, preferring areas with mossy trees. It is an average-sized species of tanager with a blue-green body and yellow head with a black forecrown, lores, orbital area, and chin.
It forages in pairs or small groups of 3–7 individuals that are part of mixed-species flocks. It is the most frugivorous species in the genus Tangara, although it also feeds on insects. It forms breeding pairs and is thought to be socially monogamous. The only known nest contained a clutch of two eggs. It is listed as being a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List, but may be threatened by habitat destruction.
The saffron-crowned tanager was first described as Callospiza xanthocephala by Johann Tschudi in 1844 based on a specimen from Peru. The generic name Tangara is from the Tupí word tangara, meaning "dancer". The specific name xanthocephala is from the Ancient Greek ξανθος (xanthos... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Saffron-crowned Tanager sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 263 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 156th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April–May and August–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Saffron-crowned Tanager in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, June–July and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Saffron-crowned 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.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Saffron-crowned Tanager sightings, Los Nevados National Natural Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (Colombia, about 10%).
Same genus: Tangara
The closest relatives of the Saffron-crowned Tanager that you can see in Los Nevados National Natural Park (genus Tangara, Tangara Tanagers) are Blue-and-black Tanager (about 10%), Beryl-spangled Tanager (about 10%) and Golden Tanager (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Saffron-crowned Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (263 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.
