Lesser Antillean Tanager

Cf. “St. Vincent Tanager”.  The two forms—possibly two species—of Lesser Antillean Tanager are very similar, but should usually be separable in the field when both sexes are present.  Fortunately, they have a strong tendency to occur in pairs or small flocks.  They are usually encountered on their respective islands, St. Vincent and Grenada, but one or both also occur in the Grenadines, which suggests that they sometimes overlap.  (Among the Grenadine reports of Lesser Antillean Tanager that are available online, only one is sufficiently detailed to assign to either form: a pair of “St. Vincent Tanagers” on Mustique on November 14, 2009.  Other Lesser Antillean Tanager sightings have been reported on eBird from Bequia, Union, and Mayreau, often enough to suggest that one or the other form is routinely present in the Grenadines.)

Males of the two forms are most readily distinguishable by crown color: dark-brown on “Grenada” versus rusty-brown on “St. Vincent”.  The color of the wings and tail also tend to differ: paler and greener on “Grenada”; darker and bluer on “St. Vincent”.  Both have predominantly buffy upperparts and underparts, but male “Grenada” tends to show a violet wash on the underparts (less often apparent on “St. Vincent”).  Apart from the crown, however, the color differences within each form may exceed the differences between them.

Females of the two forms may be indistinguishable if seen singly.  Both have rusty-brown crowns and a greenish tinge on their upperparts and underparts.  Based on available photographs, female “Grenada” tends to appear brighter and greener overall, including the wings—in other words, female “St. Vincent” has slightly duller, browner body plumage and darker, bluer wings.  However, internal variation within each form, along with vagaries of lighting, likely makes the identification of females dubious unless corroborated by the presence of an identifiable male.