Birds
Magpie-Tanager
Cissopis leverianus · also called magpie tanager
Moving through the mid-levels of a South American forest in a small pair, a magpie-tanager displays a bold black-and-white pattern that could easily be mistaken for a true magpie, despite the two birds belonging to entirely separate and unrelated families.
Overview
The magpie-tanager, Cissopis leverianus, is an unusually large, long-tailed songbird native to rainforest and forest habitat across much of South America. Its striking black-and-white plumage independently resembling a true magpie, notably large size and long tail for a tanager, and status as an evolutionarily distinctive lineage within the family make it one of the more visually and taxonomically interesting tanagers found anywhere in South America.
A magpie in name and look alone
Despite sharing no close family ties with true magpies, the magpie-tanager arrived at a strikingly similar black-and-white appearance entirely on its own, a clear example of unrelated species independently evolving similar looks under similar ecological pressures.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread across suitable rainforest and forest habitat throughout much of South America.
Magpie-Tanager: common questions
Why does the magpie-tanager look like a true magpie?
This species evolved a striking black-and-white plumage pattern independently, resembling that of a true magpie despite belonging to an entirely different family, since true magpies are members of the crow family rather than the tanager family this species belongs to.
Why is the magpie-tanager considered unusual for a tanager?
This species is notably larger than most other tanagers, with a proportionally long tail that sets it apart from the more compact body shapes typical of the family, along with being considered one of the more evolutionarily distinctive and basal lineages within the tanager group.
Does the magpie-tanager live alone or in groups?
This species typically forages in pairs or small groups, moving through the mid-levels of forest and rainforest habitat in search of insects and fruit, a social pattern shared with many other tanager species.
Where does the magpie-tanager live?
This species is native to rainforest and forest habitat across a broad range spanning much of South America, foraging through the middle levels of the forest rather than the canopy top or the ground.