Beryl-spangled tanager

The beryl-spangled tanager (Tangara nigroviridis) is a small songbird of the northern Andes.

Beryl-spangled tanager
Tangara nigroviridis cyanescens, Colombia
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Tangara
Species:	T. nigroviridis
Binomial name
Tangara nigroviridis (Lafresnaye, 1843)

Taxonomy

First described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1843, the beryl-spangled tanager is one of dozens of tanager species in the genus Tangara.

Description

It is a small songbird, measuring 13 cm (5.1 in) in length.^[2] Its plumage is largely turquoise, though heavily marked with black spots and scales.^[3] Its breast and belly are primarily black, with opalescent greenish spotting.^[2]

Habitat and distribution

The beryl-spangled tanager is found on the eastern slopes of the Andes from Venezuela, though Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia.^[2] In Ecuador, it is found at elevations ranging from 700–2,500 m (2,300–8,200 ft),^[3] while in Peru it ranges somewhat higher – from 1,500–2,900 m (4,900–9,500 ft). It occurs in humid montane forest and second growth.^[2]