Blue-grey Tanager & Tropical Mockingbird

Blue-grey Tanager & Tropical Mockingbird

Two birds with one shot. Well it is a small Island 26 miles long by 8 miles wide, so one can expect to share the odd branch here and there. Both birds common in suburban areas and light woodland. Bird photography from Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies.

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White-lined Tanager

White-lined Tanager (Tachyphonus rufus)

White-lined Tanager

Order : Passeriformes
Also known as Passerines or perching birds. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerines are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Tanagers (Thraupidae)
The Tanagers are a large group of over 200 species of songbirds of new world forests and gardens mainly in the tropics. Many are brightly coloured. They range in size from 10 - 20 cm ( 4 - 8 in ), and most are arboreal, living in trees, undergrowth and shrub. The diet consists mainly of fruit, though some species eat insects.

Name : White-lined Tanager (Tachyphonus rufus)
Length : 18 cm ( 7½ in )
Local Names : Parson

The white-lined Tanager inhabits suburban areas and light woodland and forest edges where it feeds on fruit, nectar and insects. The male is a glossy black all over with a small patch of white on the underwing covets which are best observed when the bird is in flight, and has a partially white lower mandible. The female is entirely rufus brown. The pair are usually seen together. The nest is a large cup of leaves, usually situated in thick vegetation.


#White-lined Tanager Tachyphonus rufus Tanagers Thraupidae Passeriformes birds of the West Indies birds of Trinidad & Tobago birds of Tobago birds


Bird identification images

White-lined Tanager (Tachyphonus rufus) female

Palm Tanager

Palm Tanager (Thraupis palmarum)

Palm Tanager

Order : Passeriformes
Also known as Passerine’s or perching birds. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerines are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Tanagers (Thraupidae)
The Tanagers are a large group of over 200 species of songbirds of new world forests and gardens mainly in the tropics. Many are brightly coloured. They range in size from 10 - 20 cm ( 4 - 8 in ), and most are arboreal, living in trees, undergrowth and shrub. The diet consists mainly of fruit, though some species eat insects.

Name : Palm Tanager (Thraupis palmarum)
Length : 17cm ( 7 in )

Closely related to the Blue-grey Tanager, the Palm Tanager is a dull olive green all over with yellowish wing coverts and dark primaries. It is a bird of cultivated land and suburban areas, though tends to feed at higher levels, often in Palm trees foraging among the palm leaves for insects, or taking berries and fruits from other trees. The nest is usually built in Palm trees, but may also be placed under the eaves of houses.



#Palm Tanager #Thraupis palmarum #Tanagers #Thraupidae #Passeriformes #perching birds #songbirds #arboreal birds #birds #birds of Tobago #birds of Trinidad & Tobago


Bird identification photos

Blue - gray Tanager

Blue - gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus)

Blue - gray Tanager

Order : Passeriformes
Also known as Passerine’s or perching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerine’s are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Tanagers (Thraupidae)
The Tanagers are a large group of over 200 species of songbirds of new world forests and gardens mainly in the tropics. Many are brightly coloured. They range in size from 10 - 20 cm ( 4 - 8 in ), and most are arboreal, living in trees, undergrowth and shrub. The diet consists mainly of fruit, though some species eat insects.

Name :Blue - gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus)
Length : 17cm ( 7 in )
Local Names : Blue jean

The Blue-gray Tanager ranges from Mexico south to northern Brazil and northern Bolivia. There are a number of races namely T. e. herlepschi endemic to Tobago, T. e. neosophila with a violet shoulder patch occurring in Trinidad, Venezuela, eastern Columbia and northern Brazil. T. e. mediana of the southern Amazon basin which has a white wing patch, and T. e. cana of the northern Amazon has a blue shoulder. Overall the Blue-gray Tanager is has a pale blue grey head and underparts, with darker blue upperparts. The bill is short, the lower mandible with white towards the base. Sexes are similar. They inhabit gardens, open countryside light woodland and forest edges, their diet consisting of fruits, insects and some nectar. Breeding is mainly during March and July, the nests are usually high up in a tree, occasionally being parasited by the Shiny Cowbird. They are usually seen in pairs or small groups, and may also be seen with Palm Tanagers.

#Blue - gray Tanager #Thraupis episcopus #Tanagers #Thraupidae #Passeriformes #Blue jean #birds #songbirds #tropical #birds of Tobago

Bird identification pictures