Swallow Tanager

Tersina viridis

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFruitForestCavity nestSmall · 29 g

ID tip

The swallow tanager is 14.5–15 cm (5.7–5.9 in) in length with a broad flat bill. This bird is strongly sexually dimorphic. The male is bright turquoise blue with a black face and throat. The turquoise flanks have black barring and the lower belly is white. The female is bright green with dusky-olive barring on the flanks. She lacks the black face mask. They are gregarious but do not associate with other species. They mainly eat fruit but they will also sally after insects from an exposed perch.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Swallow Tanager

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Swallow Tanager

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 14 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Curaçao.

About the Swallow Tanager

The swallow tanager is a species of Neotropic bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Tersina. It is found widely throughout South America, from eastern Panama to far northern Argentina. The species is sexually dimorphic: the female is a yellow-green and the male a turquoise blue with a small deep black face and upper throat patch.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Bluish-grey Saltator vs Swallow Tanager · Masked Flowerpiercer vs Swallow Tanager

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