Golden-collared Tanager (Iridosornis jelskii) — Vorstman's Guide to the Birds of the Andes and West Coast

Voice

Not very vocal; gives high, thin tseet calls and soft twittering in a mixed flock. A song is poorly described.

Listen: SongXC858890

Recording: Jacob Wijpkema — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto

Identification

15 cm, with a short, stout, black bill. The forehead, face and throat form a black mask, bordered by a golden-yellow band running from behind the eye to the nape. The crown, back, wings and tail are blue. The breast and belly are rufous to chestnut. The sexes are alike. Young birds are duller, with a less distinct yellow band.

Confusion species

Yellow-scarfed Tanager Iridosornis reinhardti also has a black head with a yellow band across the nape, but blue underparts, and usually lives slightly lower. Golden-crowned Tanager Iridosornis rufivertex has a golden-yellow crown patch and blue underparts, and does not occur in the same area. Yellow-throated Tanager Iridosornis analis has a yellow throat and lives lower on the eastern slope. Hooded Mountain Tanager Buthraupis montana is much larger, with yellow underparts.

Habitat

Elfin forest, mossy high montane forest, scrub and Polylepis groves at the treeline, roughly between 2800 and 3700 m. It lives in pairs or small groups, often in mixed flocks with other tanagers and flowerpiercers, searching for insects and fruit low in dense vegetation. Little is known about the nest.

Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.

Range and movements

In Peru in the Andes of the centre and south, mainly on the eastern slope, from La Libertad and Huánuco south to Puno. In Bolivia on the eastern slope in La Paz and Cochabamba. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador and the Galápagos. Does not occur outside the guide area.

Resident
dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Density map from the occurrence records of GBIF (2006-10-01 – 2026-09-30), counted per 1.41° grid cell and per month and divided by all bird records in that same cell — so the number of birdwatchers does not shape the picture. Colour depth follows that share and fades out gradually, so the map does not follow national borders. Country outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).

How and when to look

Look along the upper forest edge at the treeline, for example around Wayqecha and Acjanaco on the Manu road in Peru or on the high roads in the Yungas of La Paz in Bolivia. In mixed flocks in elfin forest watch for a small blue tanager with a black mask.

Conservation status

Least Concern. Its treeline habitat is degraded locally by fire and grazing.

Scientific name

Iridosornis jelskii | Cabanis, 1873

Cabanis described the species in 1873 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Iridosornis was introduced in 1844 by Lesson. The genus name comes from Greek iris, 'rainbow', and ornis, 'bird', thus 'rainbow bird'. The species name honours Konstanty Jelski (1837–1896), a Polish zoologist who collected in French Guiana and Peru and curated Antonio Raimondi's museum in Lima. The specimen the first description was based on came from Maraynioc, Junín, Peru.