Blue-and-black Tanager
Tangara vassorii
The Blue-and-black Tanager (Tangara vassorii) is a uncommon tanager found in 5 countries, weighing about 18 g. The blue-and-black tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae.
About the Blue-and-black Tanager
The blue-and-black tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, where it inhabits montane evergreen forest, dwarf forest, and secondary forest at elevations of 1,500–3,500 m (4,900–11,500 ft). It inhabits the highest altitude of any Tangara species, and is the only species from the genus that is found near the tree line. Adults are 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weigh 18 g (0.63 oz) on average, and are mostly blue with black masks, wings, and tails. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism, with females being slightly duller than males.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The blue-and-black tanager is an average-sized species for its genus, with a mean length of 13 cm (5.1 in) and mass of 18 g (0.63 oz). It shows slight sexual dimorphism, with females being slightly duller than males. Adult males are mainly cobalt blue with a black mask. The wing and tail feathers are black with blue edges. Subadults are mostly gray, but have black wings, tails, and lores. The bill is very short compared to other species of Tangara. The iris is brown, the bill is black, and the feet are wine gray. Voice: The blue-and-black tanager's calls include a thin, high-pitched tsit, a slightly lower swit, a repeated swit-swit-swit, and a hard SWIT-it. The song is 2–3 second long series of rhythmic, high-pitched notes that begin slow and then speed up into a zieeu-zie-zie-zizizizee trill, given every 15 seconds.
What the Blue-and-black Tanager sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Blue-and-black Tanager can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Blue-and-black Tanager?
- The blue-and-black tanager is an average-sized species for its genus, with a mean length of 13 cm (5.1 in) and mass of 18 g (0.63 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Blue-and-black Tanager?
- The Blue-and-black Tanager is a small sized bird weighing about 18 g.
- Where can you see a Blue-and-black Tanager?
- The Blue-and-black Tanager occurs in 5 countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela.
- What does a Blue-and-black Tanager sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Blue-and-black Tanager on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Blue-and-black Tanager?
- The Blue-and-black Tanager is most easily confused with the Saffron-crowned Tanager, the Paradise Tanager and the Turquoise Tanager.
Learn the Blue-and-black Tanager for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.