The buff-throated saltator (''Saltator maximus'') is a seed-eating bird in the tanager family
Thraupidae
The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...
. It breeds from southeastern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
to western
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and northeastern
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
The buff-throated saltator is on average long and weighs . The adult has a slate-grey head with a white
supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...
and a greenish crown. The upperparts are olive green, the underparts are grey becoming buff on the lower belly, and the throat is buff, edged with black. The thick convex bill and legs are black. Young birds are duller, and have a white-mottled blackish throat and breast, and brown markings on the lower underparts.
The common call is a high '. Males duet melodiously with a warbled ''cheery cheery'' answered by ''cheery to you''.
This is a species of dense vegetation. The buff-throated saltator feeds on fruit (e.g. of ''
Cymbopetalum mayanum
''Cymbopetalum mayanum'' is a species of plant in family Annonaceae. The specific epithet ''mayanum'' refers to the Mayan region in which it is indigenous, specifically the Atlantic lowlands of Guatemala and Honduras. It grows as a tree, an ...
'' (
Annonaceae
The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...
), ''
Trophis racemosa'' (
Moraceae
Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...
), and
gumbo-limbo (''Bursera simaruba'')),
buds, nectar and slow-moving insects. It forages at low and mid levels, sometimes with
mixed species flocks.
The two pale blue eggs per
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
measure some long by about wide and weigh about each, which is large among ''Saltator'' eggs.
They are laid in a bulky cup nest up to high in a tree or bush.
References
Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q918325
Saltator
Birds of South America
Birds of the Amazon rainforest
Birds of the Guiana Shield
Birds of the Cerrado
Birds of Central America
Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula
Birds of Mexico
Birds of Brazil
Birds described in 1776
Taxa named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller