The speckled tanager (Ixothraupis guttata) is a medium-sized passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and the north of Brazil. There are also sight records from French Guiana.
Adult speckled tanagers are long and weigh . The upperparts are green with black spotting, and the face is yellow with a black line from the eye to the gape. The wings and tail are black edged with green, and the underparts are white spotted with black. The sexes are similar. The speckled tanager's flight call is a weak metallic chirping tsip.
The Trinidadian subspecies I. g. trinitatis has brighter and more extensive yellow on the head, and the black spotting is more conspicuous.
Ixothraupis guttata is more of a subtropical species than its relative and occurs in humid montane and secondary forest, with generally not very tall trees and a dense understory.
References
- ffrench<!---not capitalised--->, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London.