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Piranga flava

(Vieillot, 1822)

Hepatic Tanager

G5Secure Found in 32 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.777561
Element CodeABPBX45020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyCardinalidae
GenusPiranga
Other Common Names
Fueguero Común (ES) Sanhaço-de-Fogo (PT) Tangara orangé (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
The form occuring from the US to Northern Nicaragua is recognized by some as Piranga hepatica and the form occurring from Costa Rica through the Andes to Bolivia and across northern South America as Piranga lutea, but in this treatment are considered part of P. flava.

Mitochondrial genetic data from several studies (Burns 1997; Burns et al. 2002, 2003; Klicka et al. 2000, 2007) provide strong evidence that this genus, previously placed in the Thraupidae, is a member of the Cardinalidae.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-12-03
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: southern California, northwestern and central Arizona, western Colorado (probably), northern New Mexico, western Texas south to western Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. NON-BREEDING: mostly from northern Mexico (casually from southern California and southern Arizona) south through breeding range. FLAVA group: isolated savannas of southern Guyana and Suriname and northeastern Brazil north of Amazon; interior and southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. LUTEA group: northern coastal mountains of Venezuela, Colombia (locally), western Ecuador, western Peru, and nw. Bolivia; Santa Marta Mountains of Colombia-Venezuela border; slopes of tepuis and other isolated mountains in southern Venezuela, adjacent northern Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname; Trinidad. See Ridgely and Tudor (1989) for further details.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Open coniferous forest, montane pine-oak forest, riparian woodland, lowland pine savanna; from Costa Rica southward also found in open humid forest, scrub and orchards (AOU 1983); open woodland, tall second growth, forest borders or trees in clearings (Hilty and Brown 1986). Usually nests high in conifer or deciduous tree, on outer end of branch, 4.5-15 m above ground (Terres 1980); in Costa Rica, in niche among bromeliads and other epiphytes on dead branch or dead vertical branch (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Reproduction

Eggs are laid May-July in north, March-May in Costa Rica. Clutch size is 3-5 in north (usually 4); 2-3 in Costa Rica (Terres 1980, Stiles and Skutch 1989).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavanna
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5B
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaS1Yes
TexasS4BYes
ColoradoS1BYes
New MexicoS4B,S5NYes
ArizonaS4Yes
Navajo NationS2BYes
NevadaSNAYes
Roadless Areas (32)
Arizona (13)
AreaForestAcres
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Cimarron HillsCoconino National Forest5,303
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Mitchell PeakApache-Sitgreaves National Forests35,398
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
Painted BluffsApache-Sitgreaves National Forests43,118
Sierra Ancha Wilderness ContiguousTonto National Forest7,787
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
California (2)
AreaForestAcres
Crystal CreekSan Bernardino National Forest6,783
Granite PeakSan Bernardino National Forest450
New Mexico (17)
AreaForestAcres
Aspen MountainGila National Forest23,784
Black CanyonSanta Fe National Forest1,922
Capitan MountainsLincoln National Forest14,069
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Devils CreekGila National Forest89,916
Frisco BoxGila National Forest38,979
Juan de Gabaldon GrantSanta Fe National Forest8,023
Little TesuqueSanta Fe National Forest815
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
NolanGila National Forest13,051
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
RendijaSanta Fe National Forest2,176
Ryan HillCibola National Forest34,201
Sawyers PeakGila National Forest59,743
Scott MesaCibola National Forest39,515
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
References (32)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). Chesser, R.T., R.C. Banks, F.K. Barker, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, I.J. Lovette, P.C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen, Jr., J.D. Rising, D.F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2009. Fiftieth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 126(3):705-714.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  7. Burns, K.J. 1997. Molecular systematics of tanagers (Thraupinae): Evolution and biogeography of a diverse radiation of Neotropical birds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 8:334-348.
  8. Burns, K. J. 1998. Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Piranga: implications for biogeography and the evolution of morphology and behavior. Auk 115:621-634.
  9. Burns, K. J., S. J. Hackett, and N. K. Klein. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships and morphological diversity in Darwin's finches and their relatives. Evolution 56:1240-1252.
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  11. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  12. Hilty, S.L. and W. L. Brown. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 836 pp.
  13. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  14. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  15. Isler, M. L., and P. R. Isler. 1987. The tanagers. Natural history, distribution, and identification. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C. 404 pp.
  16. Isler, M. L. and P. R. Isler. 1999. The tanagers. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
  17. Klicka, J., K. Burns, and G.M. Spellman. 2007. Defining a monophyletic Cardinalini: A molecular perspective. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45:1014-1032.
  18. Klicka, J., K.P. Johnson, and S.M. Lanyon. 2000. New World nine-primaried oscine relationships: Constructing a mitochondrial DNA framework. Auk 117:321-336.
  19. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
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  21. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  22. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  23. Ridgely, R. S. and G. Tudor. 1989. The birds of South America. Volume 1. University of Texas Press, Austin, USA. 516 pp.
  24. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  25. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  26. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  27. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  28. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  29. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  30. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  31. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.
  32. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.