Booth Bird of the Month: August – Green-headed tanager

The tanager is part of the Thraupidae family of birds, they are the second largest family of birds and one of around 240 different species.

Traditionally they are very colourful birds (although some can be black and white), omnivorous and small to medium in size. The Green-headed tanager is a small, very brightly coloured bird with shades of lime green, aquamarine, and deep blue but they also have patches of black on the throat and wings and yellowy orange feathers on their back.

Male and females look similar, but the female and the immature of the species are slightly duller in their colour. Although vibrant to look at, these shades of blue and green help it to camouflage against the foliage.

They are found in the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, north-eastern Argentina and eastern Paraguay and can be seen in urban areas such as parks and gardens as well as in humid forests often perching high up. They gather in small groups and can join mixed species groups for foraging. They eat a diet of seeds, insects and fruit-particularly oranges, papayas and bananas.

They are known to be quite speedy and acrobatic when foraging, flitting along the forest borders with a high-pitched call and a song given at dawn that sounds like the phrase, “sir sir sweet”