Cherry-throated tanager

Cherry-throated tanager
Adult in the Mata de Caetés (Caetés forest)
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Nemosia
Species:	N. rourei
Binomial name
Nemosia rourei Cabanis, 1870
Distribution within southern Brazil

The cherry-throated tanager (Nemosia rourei) is a critically endangered bird native to the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Since its description in 1870, based on a shot specimen, there had been no confirmed sightings for more than 100 years, and by the end of the 20th century, it was feared that the species was already extinct. The cherry-throated tanager was rediscovered in 1998 on a private fazenda in the state of Espírito Santo, and soon after on two other sites in the same state, though it disappeared from the fazenda after 2006. By the end of 2023, 20 individuals were known and the total population was estimated to be less than 50 birds. The main threat to its survival is the large-scale destruction of the old-growth rainforest that it requires, and in 2018 it was estimated that the species was restricted to a total area of just 31 km² (12 sq mi).

The cherry-throated tanager belongs to the tanager family Thraupidae. It is thought to be most closely related to the only other member of its genus, the hooded tanager, though this has yet to be confirmed by genetic analysis. It has a striking gray, black and white plumage, with a distinctive red throat patch that tapers towards the breast. The yellow or dark amber eyes contrast with a black face mask. Its call is clear and far-carrying. A social species, it lives in flocks that comprise up to eight birds and have large home ranges, in one case about 420 hectares (1,000 acres). Its diet consists of invertebrates such as ants and caterpillars, preferably picked from the horizontal, lichen-covered branches of large trees; the birds have also been observed feeding on fruit. The birds breed once a year, building a cup nest of beard lichen and spider web. Known nests have contained two or three eggs, and other members of the flock may help the breeding pair to feed the chicks.