Justification This species has an extremely small range which is severely fragmented and declining, and a small population which is declining as a result of habitat loss and trapping. It consequently qualifies as Vulnerable. There have been several local extinctions and many sites are highly threatened.

Family/Sub-family Thraupidae

Species name author Lesson, 1831

Taxonomic source(s) SACC (2005 + updates), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996)

Identification 13.5 cm. Strikingly colourful tanager. Turquoise-green head, chin and mantle. Black lores, area around bill and throat. Bright blue breast becoming darker ultramarine on belly. Paler turquoise-blue wing-coverts. Dark blue edging to wing feathers. Broad orange edging to tertials. Black back extending over shoulder. Bright orange rump and lower back. Dark tail edged blue. Large black bill. Female duller but similarly patterned. Voice Thin it-it-it.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

2,500-9,999

decreasing

15,700 km²

Yes

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It occurs in Atlantic forest and humid forest within interior Alagoas, Pernambuco and Paraíba⁶. However, the northernmost locality in Rio Grande do Norte is an area of cerrado known as tabuleiro, potentially broadening the species's known habitat preferences⁶. Nests are situated in dense mid-storey vegetation, usually in large bromeliads, indicating that it cannot use second growth without epiphytes⁵. It forages in the forest canopy and edge, but also occurs in 1-2 m high second growth², gardens and orchards with bromeliad-laden trees, and is often seen in mixed-species flocks⁶. The diet includes seeds, fruit and small arthropods. It breeds in the austral spring and summer (October-March).

Threats Heavy trapping for trade results from the high prices commanded by the species's exceptional plumage. There has been massive clearance of original Atlantic forest in north-east Brazil with just 2% remaining⁶, largely as a result of logging and conversion to sugarcane plantations and pastureland. None of the remaining forest fragments is larger than 4,000 ha, with most of this still subject to selective logging and poaching⁶. For example, forest at Murici reduced from 70 km² in the 1970s, to a fragmented 30 km² in 1999¹. The site is severely threatened by fires spreading from adjacent plantations and further logging, with new roads evident in January 1999^1,4.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II and protected under Brazilian law. It has been recorded in Dunas de Natal State Park⁶, Charles Darwin Ecological Refuge, Mata do Pau Ferro Ecological Park⁶, Serra dos Cavalos UFPE and Tapacurá Ecological Stations, and Saltinho and Pedra Talhada Biological Reserves. Significant areas are being reforested at Pedra Talhada, where protection is enforced by guards and apparently welcomed by local communities³. The recently decreed Murici Ecological Station is still ineffectively implemented and forest loss continues through pasture encroachment and charcoal production⁶. Captive birds have been confiscated and released into reserves, but this can only succeed if the protection of such areas is improved. Forestation schemes being undertaken to create new-forested areas along rivers and on steep slopes may have positive impacts owing to the ability of the species to utilise second-growth habitat⁶.

Conservation measures proposed Survey sites without recent records, especially São Miguel dos Campos, Tapacurá, Saltinho and João Pessoa, and any other remnant habitat fragments. Pursue conservation initiatives for the most important previously unreported populations, especially Usina Serra Grande, Mata da Macambira, Usina Utinga-Leao and Usina Santo Antonio⁶. Ensure the de facto protection of the Murici biological reserve. Enforce legal measures to prevent trade.

References Collar et al. (1992). 1. J. M. Goerck in litt. (1999). 2. G. M. Kirwan in litt. (1999). 3. A. Studer per A. Whittaker in litt. (1999). 4. A. Whittaker in litt. (1999). 5. E. O. Willis in litt. (1999). 6. Silveira et al. (2003). 7. Roda et al. (2003). 8. S. Roda in litt. (2007).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoía y la categoría de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicación.

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), David Capper (BirdLife International), Matt Harding (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Contributors J. M. Goerck (SAVE Brasil), G. M. Kirwan, Sonia Roda, A Studer, A Whittaker, E. O. Willis

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Tangara fastuosa. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/7/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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