Azure-shouldered Tanager
Thraupis cyanoptera
The Azure-shouldered Tanager (Thraupis cyanoptera) is a rare tanager found only in Brazil, weighing about 43 g. The azure-shouldered tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae.
About the Azure-shouldered Tanager
The azure-shouldered tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. Described by the French zoologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817, it is only found in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, from southeastern Bahia, eastern Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo south to northern Rio Grande do Sul. It inhabits humid montane forests, open woodlands, secondary growth, and forest edges and can be found at elevations of up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), but usually stays below 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The azure-shouldered tanager is a large, thick-billed tanager with an average length of 18 cm (7.1 in) and a mass of 41–46 g (1.4–1.6 oz). Both sexes look alike and have similar dimensions. Adults are overall bluish in color, with gray-blue upperparts and heads, darker lores, and more bluish crowns. The throat and underparts are paler than the upper body, while the rump, uppertail coverts, and tail are bright blue. The flanks have a greenish wash. The upperwing-coverts are a rich, glossy violet-blue and the greater coverts are dark with wide turquoise-blue edges. Voice: The azure-shouldered tanager's song is very different from that of other Thraupis tanagers; it has an initial assortment of soft notes, followed by clear, musical jittle-jittle-jittle, jeeeyr-jurr notes. These notes are usually repeated twice or thrice and can also be transcribed as look heeere, right heeere, drink-drink-jrrr.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in October. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify an Azure-shouldered Tanager?
- The azure-shouldered tanager is a large, thick-billed tanager with an average length of 18 cm (7.1 in) and a mass of 41–46 g (1.4–1.6 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is an Azure-shouldered Tanager?
- The Azure-shouldered Tanager is a small sized bird weighing about 43 g.
- Where can you see an Azure-shouldered Tanager?
- The Azure-shouldered Tanager is endemic to Brazil, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to an Azure-shouldered Tanager?
- The Azure-shouldered Tanager is most easily confused with the Glaucous Tanager, the Golden-chevroned Tanager and the Yellow-winged Tanager.
- Is the Azure-shouldered Tanager endangered?
- The Azure-shouldered Tanager is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Azure-shouldered Tanager for real
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