Tearful or cheerful?
© Jong-Won Heo/Moment/Getty Images
Given its cheerful chirps and animated behavior, it's a bit unexpected that the lacrimose mountain tanager's name means tearful or sorrowful (it's probably in reference to the teardrop-like yellow markings beneath the bird's eyes). The colorful passerines known as tanagers are the second-largest bird family in the world, making up about 4% of all bird species and roughly 12% of those found in Central and South America. The latter stat includes the lacrimose mountain tanager, which thrives in the northern Andean countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Big in the beak
Noggin of steel
Rodent on the rebound?
One cool bird
An avian artisan
Little but loud
Birdie of blue
Little bird in the Big Apple
