''Creurgops'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In biogeogra ...
birds 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 ...
. They are found in the
canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
of humid montane forest in the
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
.
These are relatively large and heavy-billed tanagers. They are mainly
slaty grey above and
rufous
Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish- red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a d ...
below, except in the male slaty tanager where the underparts also are slaty grey. Males of both species have a crown patch, which is lacking in the females. They commonly participate in
mixed-species flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These are ...
s.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus ''Creurgops'' was introduced in 1858 by the English zoologist
Philip Sclater
Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an England, English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological ...
to accommodate the newly described
rufous-crested tanager (''Creurgops verticalis''). The genus name combines the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''kreourgos '' meaning "butcher" with ''ōps'' meaning "appearance".
The genus now contains two species.
References
Further reading
* Restall, R. L., C. Rodner, & M. Lentino. (2006). ''Birds of Northern South America.'' Christopher Helm, London. (vol. 1). (vol. 2).
* Schulenberg, T., D. Stotz, D. Lane, J. O' Neill, & T. Parker III. (2007). ''Birds of Peru.'' Christopher Helm, London.
Bird genera
Birds of the Northern Andes
Taxa named by Philip Sclater
{{Thraupidae-stub