24-3-2017 RANCHO NATURALISTA, COSTA RICA - BAY HEADED TANAGER (Tangara gyrola)

The bay-headed tanager (Tangara gyrola) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in Costa Rica, Panama, South America south to Ecuador, Bolivia and north-western Brazil, and on Trinidad.

It occurs in forests, particularly in wetter areas. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree and the normal clutch is two brown-blotched white eggs. The female incubates the eggs for 13–14 days to hatching, with another 15–16 days before the chicks fledge.

These are social birds which eat mainly fruit, usually swallowed whole. Insects are also taken, mainly from the underside of branches.