Black-bellied Tanager Ramphocelus melanogaster

Also known as Huallaga Tanager, Black-bellied Tanager is sometimes speculated to be conspecific with Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo) and Crimson-backed Tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus); its plumage is practically identical to the last-named. There is only little evidence, however, of intergradation between Black-bellied Tanager and Silver-beaked tanagers, which lacks the present species’ bright crimson rump and underparts (in males). The behavior of the two species, however, appears to be much the same. Black-bellied Tanager is endemic to northeastern Peru, and in particular the valleys of the Río Huallaga and its tributary, the Río Mayo, where it is common in shrubby growth up to 1000 m.