Turquoise tanager

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

This tanager has a black head and back. It has a blue rump and bluish ivory shoulder patches. Its face and chest are purplish blue spotted with black. Its underparts are yellow.

Reproduction

A pair breaks off from the flock to build a deep cup-shaped nest. The female lays 2 or 3 greyish eggs speckled with white or grey and brown or purple.

Incubation lasts 12 to 14 days. After the eggs hatch, the parents rejoin the flock, but return to feed the nestlings.

Diet

These birds eat small fruit and insects. They are especially fond of the berries of the Miconia, but also eat the fruit of Cecropia, Ilex and Ficus. They hunt for insects mostly under branches. They also eat small amounts of flowers, leaves and seeds.

Predators

Their enemies are raptors, felines and snakes.

Habitat

Turquoise tanagers live in a wide range of semi-open habitats, including forest edges, regenerating forests, pastures, shady plantations, parks and gardens. They are also found in flooded forest.

Ecology, behaviour

They live in flocks of 3 to 7 individuals from the same species and will occasionally join flocks of other species of birds in trees that are full of ripe fruit. During the breeding season, the other members of a flock may help to care for nestlings that are not their own.

French name

Calliste diable-enrhumé

Scientific name

Tangara mexicana

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Birds

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Thraupidae

Size

Length: 12 cm

Weight

20 g

Life span

In captivity: 10 to 15 years

Status

Least concern (IUCN)

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