Golden-hooded Tanager

Stilpnia larvata

eBird gives this description for the Golden-hooded Tanager:  Very attractive small tanager of humid tropical lowlands. Found in humid evergreen forest edges, plantations, and gardens; at times with mixed-species feeding flocks of honeycreepers and euphonias. Often in pairs, feeding at all levels in fruiting trees and bushes. Sexes look alike: black and blue overall with a white belly and a soft golden hood; in good light, varied purple and turquoise sheens are apparent.

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about this bird:  The Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata) is a neotropical species that inhabits humid forest and forest edges. It belongs to the speciose genus Tangara and is often considered to belong to a superspecies with the Masked Tanager (Tangara nigrocincta) and Blue-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanicollis). The Golden-hooded Tanager is brightly colored with a bright golden hood (from which it gets its name), turquoise blue wing coverts and rump, and black wings and tail. The main diet of the Golden-hooded Tanager is fruits and berries, but it consumes insects as well. Although the Golden-hooded Tanager is listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, there is little or no information on population size and demographics of this bird.

I met my first Golden-hooded Tanager at La Selva on the late afternoon of Sunday, February 5, 2023.  The bird was part of a mixed flock (an amazing and colorful array of birds) high in a tree that was quite a distance from our observation point near the mess hall.  Our guide Sam got this bird in his scope and I got a clear look at it.  I was also able to get a shot of it with my P1000.  It is a terrible photograph, but you can identify the bird as a Golden-hooded Tanager.  My photo is so bad that I almost feel guilty putting this bird on my life list.  But I did indeed see the bird, and took a picture.  Our guide Sam took a great picture of a Golden-hooded Tanager at Nectar & Pollen Reserve earlier in the day, and I will try to get permission to post that picture for you to enjoy.  To see my blog post that includes my visit to La Selva and my meeting this bird, look here.