Lacrimose Mountain Tanager (anisognathus lacrymosus) eating fruit, Colombia

Tearful or cheerful?

Given its cheerful chirps and animated behaviour, 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 colourful 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.