Appearance

The scarlet and black Vermilion Tanager (Calochaetes coccineus) is a relatively small tanager and is the only member of the genus. The bird is primarily scarlet, except for the mask, throat, wings, and tail being black. It is further distinguished by having a chunky build, short tail, and short thick bill (Hilty 2011). The sexes are similar, but the female has duller black patches. Similar species include Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) and Masked Crimson Tanager (Ramphocelus nigrogularis).

Among red and black tanagers, the combination of having a red mantle and a black face is diagnostic for Vermilion Tanager. It is similar in appear to some species of Ramphocelus, of which Masked Crimson Tanager (R. nigrogularis) overlaps geographically with Vermilion Tanager. Ramphocelus tanagers prefer remarkably different habitats and different elevations than do Vermilion Tanagers, however, with Ramphocelus occupying secondary habitats in the lowlands, and Vermilion Tanagers in humid forest, usually from 1500-2000 m (Ridgely and Tudor 1989, Ridgely and Greenfield 2001). However, they may co-occur at the hills located at the base of the Andes. These two species are similar in size and plumage, except that Masked Crimson Tanager has a shiny black mantle and belly (duller in the female) (Meyer de Schauensee 1964, Hilty and Brown 1986). Vermilion Tanager also is superficially similar to the breeding (alternate) plumage of boreal migrant Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), which winters in Colombia. Scarlet Tanager, however, lacks the black face and bib of Vermilion Tanager (Ridgely and Tudor 1989).

Adult: Vermilion Tanager is strikingly patterned intense red and glossy black. The black lores, ocular area, throat, and uppermost breast give this bird a shiny black face and bib; the median and greater upper wing coverts, the remiges, and the rectrices are similarly black. Otherwise, the rest of the plumage is brilliant scarlet red that produces a sheen, including the crown, auriculars, mantle, back, and uppertail coverts dorsally, and from the breast through the belly to the undertail coverts ventrally (Ridgely and Tudor 2009). The bill is short and thick. There are no known differences between breeding and nonbreeding adults. The sexes appear similar; however, females are duller and can appear orangey (Schulenberg et al. 2010). The sexes are likely more dichromatic than we can perceive, for when plumage is measured using a model of avian vision, the male and female Vermilion Tanager show very strong dichromatism (Burns and Shultz 2012).

Juvenile: Apparently undescribed (Hilty 2011).

Geographic variation in plumage has not been reported.

Tanagers that have been studied have either a Complex Basic Strategy or Complex Alternative Strategy (Ryder and Wolfe 2009). However, most tanagers only molt once a year (Isler and Isler 1987), and this prebasic molt likely occurs after the breeding season (Isler and Isler 1987, Ryder and Wolfe 2009). Many species have been found to breed in subadult plumage (Isler and Isler 1987). More specific information on molt and its timing is not available for Vermilion Tanager.

The bill of Vermilion Tanager is primarily black, with all black maxilla, and the mandible blue- or silver gray with a black tip (Parker and Parker 1982). The iris is brown to dark brown, and the tarsi and toes are dark gray to dark horn gray (Parker and Parker 1982, Hilty 2011).

The length of both sexes is 15-18 cm (Ridgely and Tudor 1989, Hilty 2011). The mean mass of both sexes is 46.4 g (min: 42 g, max: 49 g, n=5; Dunning 2008). A female from southern Ecuador weighed 48 g (Rahbek et al. 1993). Further measurements from Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology speciemens is reported in Table 1 below (from Parker and Parker 1982).

The mean mass of both sexes is 46.4 g (42-49 g, n = 5; Parker and Parker 1982, Rahbek et al. 1993).