Piranga bidentata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The flame-colored tanager (Piranga bidentata), formerly known as the stripe-backed tanager, is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found from Mexico throughout Central America to northern Panama and occasionally in the United States; four subspecies are recognized. The flame-colored tanager is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long, the male having predominantly red-orange while the female is more yellowish orange.
English naturalist William Swainson described the flame-colored tanager in 1827 from material collected by William Bullock and his son from a specimen from Temascaltepec in Mexico. French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye described Piranga sanguinolenta as a separate species in 1839, though the two were generally regarded as conspecific by the end of the 19th century.
A 2019 genetic study using mitochondrial DNA showed that the flame-colored tanager was the sister taxon of the western tanager (P. ludoviciana). The flame-colored tanager and the other species of genus Piranga were originally placed in the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. Since approximately 2008 they have... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 8 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 12 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Cusuco National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 14 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Flame-colored Tanager sighting in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Flame-colored Tanager in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months. April and June–September have too few records to rate.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Flame-colored Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Flame-colored Tanager sightings, Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Volcán Barú National Park (Panama, about 60%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Piranga
The closest relatives of the Flame-colored Tanager that you can see in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (genus Piranga, Piranga Tanagers) are Hepatic Tanager (about 30%), Western Tanager (about 10%) and Summer Tanager (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Flame-colored Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (5 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.
