Spangle-cheeked Tanager

Open encyclopedia reference

The spangle-cheeked tanager (Tangara dowii) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is an endemic resident breeder in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Formerly considered conspecific with the green-naped tanager, it is now known that these two species differ geographically and genetically. It is common from about 1,200 to 3,000 m (3,900 to 9,800 ft) altitude in the canopy of epiphyte-laden wet mountain forests, and at lower levels in semi-open areas like clearings with trees, second growth and woodland edges. The bulky cup nest, lined with bromeliad leaves, is built in a tree fork or on a branch high amongst the epiphytes. The normal clutch is two eggs. The adult spangle-cheeked tanager is 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 20 g (0.71 oz). It has a mainly black head, upperparts and breast, with blue scaling on the breast, sides of the face and neck, and a rufous crown patch. The wings and tail have blue edgings. The rump is green and the belly is cinnamon.

Wikipedia contributors, Spangle-cheeked tanager; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:58:37.171989+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Tangara dowii (Salvin, 1863)

Name authority

(Salvin, 1863)

Common name

Spangle-cheeked Tanager

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Thraupidae

Genus

Tangara

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyThraupidae
11. genusTangara Brisson, 1760
12. speciesTangara dowii (Salvin, 1863)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Tangara. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 291 records assigned to Thraupidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=563292 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:7BKFH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.