White-shouldered Tanager

How to find it

Check mixed feeding flocks in the forest mid levels and borders, because pairs or family groups regularly join them. Scan the middle and upper layers rather than the ground, since it seldom goes down there. Look for the white shoulder on a male first. Tall second growth and shaded clearings near humid forest are worth a look as well. Carara is a transition zone on the central Pacific coast, between dry forest and rainforest, and a Costa Rica tanager guide lists this bird among those to watch for around the park and nearby areas.

How to recognise it

Start with the male: glossy jet black with a bold white shoulder patch. Look for the white shoulders first. Males often hide a small reddish cap that is rarely visible, and some are reported with a hidden yellow crown, so do not count on seeing it.

Females look quite different. They are olive green above, with a yellow belly, a gray head and a whitish throat. Note the small size and the fairly thick bill.

This is a small tanager, about 14 cm long and weighing about 14 g, with a long tail and a pointed bill.

What it sounds like

Recording: GERMAN LEONEL SARMIENTO CRUZ, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

In Costa Rica it often travels in pairs or small groups within mixed flocks of tanagers, warblers and similar birds. It searches foliage for insects, more slowly than a warbler, and eats many small fruits. It seldom goes to the ground.

Across its range it mostly forages at mid levels of the forest, and also uses the subcanopy and lower growth, picking insects and small fruit from foliage. The nest is a bulky cup built in low vegetation, and the female lays three cream eggs with brown blotches.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it uses the middle and upper levels of humid forest, tall second growth, shaded clearings nearby and semi-open areas. It is found from sea level up to about 750 m.

It is uncommon to fairly common across the Caribbean slope, and common in the south of the Pacific slope. Its numbers thin out going north, and it reaches as far as Carara. The species also uses cocoa plantations.

Similar birds

The male looks like the White-lined Tanager, but is smaller and has a much more obvious white shoulder. In the White-lined, the white is small and mostly seen in flight.

The female resembles the Gray-headed Tanager but is much smaller, and her head contrasts less with the body. Females can be mistaken for several other tanagers, so note the small size and fairly thick bill.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Tángara Caponiblanca. Other Spanish names are used elsewhere: parlotero aliblanco in Colombia, tángara ribetiblanca in Nicaragua, and tangara hombriblanca in Ecuador and Panama. The old scientific name Tachyphonus came from Greek words for fast and speaking, and the species name luctuosus means mournful, a reference to the black male.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), and it is fairly common over most of its large range, with BirdLife listing it as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Expect shaded perches. In one trip photo a female sat in a shady spot at Carara but was still found, and the pair were not close enough to photograph together. Scan mixed flocks for the male's white shoulder, then look nearby for his mate.