The Beryl-Spangled Tanager Is A Bird With A Stunning Iridescent Turquoise Appearance

Color in motion? This vibrant bird appears to be adorned with gems.

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• February 28, 2022

The Beryl-spangled Tanager (Tangara Nigroviridis) gets its name from its spangled appearance. The vivid blue and green stones are strewn across this bird's entire body contrast wonderfully with its black mask and back, giving its plumage a brightly spangled turquoise appearance. In a nutshell, this is a lovely bird.

The Beryl-spangled tanager is a tiny songbird that is just 5.1 inches in length and was discovered and described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1843. The female of the species has the same spangled appearance as the male, albeit the male is much more vibrant.

The Beryl-spangled Tanager can be found in the Andean Cloud Forests of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru at elevations of 4,900–9,500 feet in the tropical zones of those regions. This bird, which lives in humid forests, feeds on fruit and nectar and spreads seeds wherever it goes, promoting the creation of new forests.

Around March, the female of this species constructs a mossy nest in the fork of her preferred tree, where she lays 2–5 eggs. She'll incubate them for 13 to 15 days.

In 14 to 20 days, the chicks will be completely grown. The actual number of birds is unknown, although it is estimated that there are around 10,000 birds in a stable, non-fragmented community.

The Beryl-spangled Tanager (Tangara nigroviridis) gets its name from its spangled appearance

The female of the species has the same spangled appearance as the male, albeit the male is much more vibrant.

This is a tiny songbird with only 5.1 inches in length

It can be found in tropical areas in Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru at elevations of 4,900–9,500

The female lays 2–5 eggs. She'll incubate them for 13 to 15 days.

The Beryl-spangled Tanager is a member of the Tanager family. It contains around 240 species of mostly brightly colored fruit-eating birds.

Tanagers are small to medium-sized birds. The shortest-bodied species, the white-eared conebill, is 4 inches long and weighs 0.2 oz, barely smaller than the short-billed honeycreeper.

The longest, the magpie tanager is 11 inches and weighs 2.7 oz. The heaviest is the white-capped tanager, which weighs 4.02 oz and measures about 9.4 inches.

Both sexes are usually the same size and weight. Tanagers are often brightly colored, but some species are black and white.

Males are typically more brightly colored than females and juveniles. Most tanagers have short, rounded wings.

The shape of the bill seems to be linked to the species' foraging habits.

It feeds on fruit and nectar.

Watch it on video here:

Besides being beautiful, these birds are very important to the ecosystem. They are vital seed dispersers, which helps foster the growth of new forests.

They are also food for larger predators. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

The Beryl-spangled Tanager has a very wide range and a stable population, so it is not marked as an endangered species. It is evaluated as Least Concern.

So, if you are planning a trip to Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, be sure to put seeing these birds on your “must-do” list.

Damjan