Spangle-cheeked Tanager

Tangara dowii

eBird provides this description for the Spangle-cheeked Tanager:  Beautiful multicolored tanager: unique with orangey belly, cobalt wings, and turquoise spangles on chest, cheek, and nape. Black face. Not similar to any other tanager. Sexes alike. Small and active, usually found in pairs following mixed feeding flocks in forests and edges. Feeds on fruit.

The Birds of the World website has this to say about the Spangle-cheeked Tanager:  Spangle-cheeked Tanagers were previously considered to be conspecific with the Green-naped Tanager (Tangara fucosa) on account of their similar vocalizations and foraging behavior, as well as plumage. However, the two species are genetically distinct and geographically isolated. The Spangle-cheeked Tanager is found in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama, and its overall altitudinal range spans 1100 to 3200 m. Unlike many Tangara species, it typically travels in single-species flocks, and only occasionally joins flocks with other species, most commonly those containing Common Bush-Tanagers (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus). This species’ heavily spangled upperparts should make it automatically distinctive within its range. Outside of its range, other aspects of the coloration separate this species from the Green-naped Tanager. Little is known about its diet and life history. Other names include the Dow Tanager (Davis 1972), Calliste paillete [French], Glanzfleckentangare [German], and Tangara Caripinta [Spanish] (Isler and Isler 1987).

I met my first Spangle-cheeked Tanager on the morning of February 9, 2023, near the Quetzal National Park in Costa Rica.  This beautiful bird was almost hidden in dense foliage, but my poor photograph was sufficient to idenitfy this beautiful bird.  Another embarassing photo for this old man!