Alternative name: Swallow-Tanager
- Tersina viridis
Identification
15cm
Female is a yellow-green, with horizontal green stripes on sides of breast.
Male a brighter turquoise-green, with a small deep black face and upper throat patch.
Variation
Depending on perhaps light or perhaps geographical variation, this species (and especially males) are sometimes much more blue, without green tones.
Distribution
Central and South America:
Central America: Panama and Trinidad
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized1:
- T. v. occidentalis:
- T. v. grisescens:
- Santa Marta Mountains (north-eastern Colombia)
- T. v. viridis:
Habitat
Forests (gallery and forest edges), savanas and gardens.
Behaviour
Flight
Swallow-like flight from high exposed branches.
Diet
The diet includes insects caught on the wing, and large fruits, particularly the fruit of Embaúba tree.
Up to 100 non-breeding birds can be found in large foraging flocks.
Breeding
They nest in sandbanks, tree holes and wall crevices.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Birdforum member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Swallow Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swallow_Tanager
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
