Flame-colored Tanager

Piranga bidentata

eBird gives this description of the Flame-colored Tanager:  Fairly common in oak and pine-evergreen forests in foothills and highlands; a few descend in winter to lowlands of west Mexico. Forages mainly at middle to upper levels where often quiet and overlooked easily. Note the bold white wingbars, big white tertial and tail spots, and dark streaks on back. Male flame-orange in west Mexico and deeper orange-red in east Mexico and Central America. Female told from female Western Tanager by gray bill, bolder white wing markings, and streaked back. Calls and song very like Western Tanager.  

The Birds of the World website introduces the Flame-colored Tanager with this descriptive information:  The Flame-colored Tanager is widespread and common in the highlands of Central America, from northern Mexico south to western Panama. It primarily is resident, but some individuals disperse, especially after breeding, and it is a rare visitor to the mountains of the southwestern United States. Flame-colored Tanager occurs in a variety of forested habitats, including humid evergreen forest, pine-oak forests, and forest edge. Males are primarily orange or red, with dusky stripes on the back, and black wings with prominent white wing bars and tips to the tertials. The male of subspecies bidentata of western Mexico is more orange, especially on the face and the belly, than are males of the three other subspecies, which are redder overall. Females lack red or orange; they are olive above, with dusky streaks, and yellow below, with a wing pattern similar to that of the male. This species forages for a variety of fruits and insects in the midstory and canopy. Flame-colored Tanager usually travels alone or in pairs, which frequently associate with mixed-species flocks.

I met and photographed my first Flame-colored Tanager on an early evening visit to Miriam’s Cafe in the Savegre Valley of Costa Rica on February 7, 2023.  This bird was cooperative and gave me many good looks, so I was able to get some decent photos.  A beautiful bird!