Azure-shouldered Tanager

Overview

The azure-shouldered tanager (Thraupis cyanoptera) is a large, thick-billed member of the tanager family, Thraupidae. Described in 1817, this species is restricted to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.

Identification

• Plumage: Adults are overall bluish with gray-blue upperparts, bright blue rump and tail, and rich glossy violet-blue upperwing-coverts; flanks possess a greenish wash.
• Size and Structure: A large tanager averaging 18 cm in length with a thick bill; the upper mandible is blackish and the lower is blue-gray.
• Vocalisation: The song is distinct from other Thraupis, beginning with soft notes followed by clear, musical jittle-jittle-jittle or jeeeyr-jurr notes, often transcribed as 'look heeere, right heeere, drink-drink-jrrr'.

Habitat

Found exclusively in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, ranging from southeastern Bahia and eastern Minas Gerais south to northern Rio Grande do Sul. It inhabits humid montane forests, open woodlands, secondary growth, and forest edges, typically at elevations below 1,200 m but occasionally up to 1,600 m.

Diet

This species is frugivorous, feeding on fruit, flowers, and notably leaves, an unusual aspect of its diet. Foraging occurs in mixed-species or single-species flocks of up to 15–20 birds, primarily in tall trees and on mossy branches, where they chew fruit and sometimes crush larger items externally.

Did you know?

Despite having small gapes, the azure-shouldered tanager can consume a wide variety of fruit sizes by crushing larger pieces externally before ingestion. Its highly frugivorous diet has made it a key player in the ecological network of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, contributing significantly to network topology.