The gold-ringed tanager is an endangered bird that is found in only three areas of the world, all around Mount Tatama in Colombia, the tallest mountain in the Western Andes at 13,333 feet. Its Spanish name is "Tangara del Tatama," named for the region in Colombia where it is found. It is only found in a limited elevation range from 4,430 feet to 7,201 feet. However, in any specific area, it is only found within a range of 328 to 656 feet because it prefers the heavy humidity found within the cloud forest of that area.
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| Gold-ringed tanager range from Wikipedia. |
Birds of the World, a subscription service, notes that it has "black, dark green, and yellow plumage. Its body is primarily olive or moss green, with yellow and blue accents. The head is black with a 'gold ring' that extends from the supercilium through the auriculars to the submoustachial stripe. The throat is black (green in subadults) and there is a yellow central breast patch." It is a medium-sized tanager and "chunky, thick-billed, short-tailed, and strong-legged."
We saw it on the dirt road on Montezuma Mountain above Montezuma Rainforest Lodge in Tatama NNP. Mount Tatama was across a deep valley from us. My guide was very excited when we saw it because he said it is one of the birds people come from all over the world to see.
Wow, that is a very small range, smaller even than many of the hummingbird ranges. And what a beautiful bird!
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