THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

opalescent straw color; underparts light
orange-yellow. Female: much duller; lacks the
male’s distinctive dark throat patch.
Diet: Fruit and insects; forages in flocks from
low levels to treetops.
Reproduction: 2 eggs laid in open cup nest.
Paradise Tanager
Tangara chilensis (Thraupidae)
Distribution: South America: common in
Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil.
Habitat: Canopy and edges of subtropical to
tropical lowland humid forests, including parts
of the Amazon basin and upwards to 1400 m.
Often moves in mixed flocks.
Appearance: Striking colors: top and sides
of head bright apple-green, black upper body
plumage, lower back scarlet, underparts a bright
turqoise. Beak and legs black. Sexes similar.
Diet: Mainly fruit, buds, leaves. Forage from
middle heights to treetops. Also, like other
Tangara tanagers, picks insects from leaves or
sometimes takes them in flight. Often moves
and feeds in mixed flocks.
Reproduction: Female builds a cup nest where
she lays two or three brown- or lilac-speckled
white eggs. Eggs hatch in 13–14 days; chicks
fledge in additional 15–16 days. Nestlings
are feed insects and fruit by both male and
female.
Remarks: In Spanish, called “sieite colores” for
its seven-colored appearance: green, yellow,
scarlet, black, and three colors of blue feathers
adorn this handsome bird.
Turquoise Tanager
Tangara mexicana (Thraupidae)
Distribution: Trinidad, Colombia, and
Venezuela, much of Brazil, and south to
Bolivia.
Habitat: Rainforest, mangroves, open
woodland and cultivated areas.
Appearance: Head, throat, breast, lower back
and rump a cornflower blue; bright turquoise
shoulder patches and pale yellow lower
underparts. Bill and legs black. Lower neck
spotted with white; body with patches of black.
Sexes similar.
Diet: Variety of fruits as well as insects, often
gleaned from twigs. Forages from ground to
treetops.
California Academy of Sciences
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Reproduction: Builds bulky cup nest in tree or
shrub. Female incubates three brown-blotched
grey-green eggs for about 12–14 days.
Remarks: Call: sharp, twittering chirps.
Opal-rumped Tanager
Tangara velia (Thraupidae)
Distribution: Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana,
Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Habitat: Tropical forests, from emergent to
shrub layer, especially lowland rainforests and
the forest edge, though found in some areas
up to 1200 m.
Appearance: Upperparts mostly black;
underparts a deep-violet blue. Rump an
opalescent silvery green. Beak, feet, and legs
are black. Female differs from male by having
glistening blue green rather than purplish blue
on sides of head.
Diet: Usually forages in the canopy or emergent
layer mostly for fruits and berries.
Occasionally pick insects from leaves or takes
them in flight.
Reproduction: Female constructs wellconcealed
cup nest and typically lays clutch of
2 grayish-white eggs dotted with darker gray.
Incubation: 13–14 days; chicks fledge 15–16
days after hatching. Both male and female feed
hatchlings a diet of insects and fruit, and are
often assisted by same-species helpers.
Remarks: Generally seen in pairs and/or small
groups of mixed species.
Emit a high-pitched twitter in flight.
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus (Thraupidae)
Distribution: Found mainly from central
Mexico to northern parts of Boliva and Brazil.
Common throughout much of Costa Rica.
Habitat: Semi-open habitats; often found near
cultivated areas, especially fruit orchards.
Appearance: Male: pale blue-gray color with a
darker blue-gray back, bright sky blue wings
and tail, a blackish bill, and large, black eyes.
Female and young are grayer.
Diet: Insects, spiders, and fruit. Also
occasionally eat flowers, leaves, and nectar.
Reproduction: Female incubates 2 eggs laid
in open cup nest for 12–14 days; once eggs
hatch, both parents feed young, which fledge
in about 17 days.