Brazilian Tanager

The Brazilian tanager is about 18 cm (7 in) long and weighs 27.9 to 35.5 g (0.98 to 1.3 oz). It has a heavy bill with a wide base to the mandible. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly rich shiny red that is slightly darker on the back; the feathers of the central back have black bases that sometimes show. Their head, neck, and throat have a plush appearance. Their wings and tail are black, sometimes with inconspicuous red tips on the median upperwing coverts. Adult females have a grayish brown head, neck, throat, upperparts, wings, and tail, though sometimes the forecrown and rump have a reddish tinge. Their breast, belly, and undertail coverts are brownish red. Males of subspecies R. b. dorsalis have a darker red back than the nominate; females are like the nominate. Both sexes of both subspecies have a reddish brown iris and dull brown to slate-gray legs. Males have a blackish bill with a white basal half on the mandible. Females have a dusky brown bill.

The nominate subspecies of the Brazilian tanager is the more northerly of the two. It is found from Paraiba in Brazil's far east south to Bahia. Subspecies R. b. dorsalis is found from Bahia, eastern Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo south to northeastern Santa Catarina state. There are also scattered records from interior Brazil. Though some sources also include northwestern Argentina's Misiones Province in the species' range, the South American Classification Committee has only unconfirmed records there. The Brazilian tanager inhabits the edges and clearings of forest and more open non-forested landscapes such as parks, gardens, towns, and the edges of marshes. It often is found near water including the ocean. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

The Brazilian tanager feeds on arthropods and fruits. Pulpy fruits and those of figs (Ficus) have been noted, and in one study almost a third of its insect prey was beetles (Coleoptera). It typically forages in pairs and only seldom in larger groups, unlike several other Ramphocelus species.