Rainforest Birds - Turquoise Tanager

Bird Name:

Turquoise Tanager

Turquoise

Latin Name:

Tangara mexicana

Status:

Least Concern

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Thraupidae

Genus: Tangara

Species: T. Mexicana

General Information:

The Turquoise Tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird that occurs in northern and northeastern South America. It is a resident of the Amazon Basin as well as adjacent rivers. It is a public bird and is often found in small flocks.

Physical Description:

The adult birds are nearby 5.5 inches long and weigh almost 20 grams. They have long tails and dark stout bills. When fully grown, these tanagers are dark blue in color with yellow underparts. The Trinidadian form, T. M. Vieiloti, has a darker blue hue and brighter yellow belly than their mainland counterparts. The east Brazilian subspecies, T. M. Brasiliensis, is pale, silvery-blue with dark spots on its throat and chest and white on its belly.

Diet:

The Turquoise Tanager feeds primarily on fruit but will also eat insects, flowers, leaves, and seeds.

Habitat:

Its range stretches within the Amazon Basin to Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Bolivia. It is also common on the island of Trinidad, where it is a resident breeder. It inhabits forests, semi-open areas, and cultivated lands. This bird typically builds a bulky cup nest in a tree or shrub. In eastern Brazil, there is a disjunct habitancy living from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro.

Reproduction:

The female Turquoise Tanager lays 2 to 3 brown-blotched, gray-green eggs per clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 12 - 14 days. Pairs break off from the flock to reproduce. After hatching, pairs rejoin the flock but return to feed the young.

Rainforest Birds - Turquoise Tanager

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