Metallic-green tanager

The metallic-green tanager (Tangara labradorides) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Metallic-green tanager
Northwestern Ecuador
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Tangara
Species:	T. labradorides
Binomial name
Tangara labradorides (Boissonneau, 1840)

Taxonomy and systematics

The blue-and-black tanager was first described as Tanagra (Aglaia) labradorides by Auguste Boissonneau in 1840 on the basis of a specimen from Santa Fe, Colombia.^[2] The generic name Tangara comes from the Tupí word tangara, meaning dancer. The specific name labradorides is from the French pierre de Labrador (feldspar), and the Ancient Greek -ides, meaning resembling, referring to the species' metallic blue-green color, which resembles that of feldspar.^[3] Metallic-green tanager is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).^[4]

The metallic-green tanager is one of 27 species in the genus Tangara. It was previously thought to form a species group with the blue-browed and golden-naped tanagers. However, phylogenetic studies have shown that the golden-naped tanager is only distantly related to the other two species in the group. Its relation with the blue-browed tanager is also unclear, as some studies have shown the metallic-green tanager to be sister to the blue-browed tanager, but others have found this grouping to be paraphyletic.^[5][6][7]

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of the metallic-green tanager.^[4] DNA studies have shown that the rate of divergence between in nucleotide sequences between the two subspecies is higher than that of several other tanagers currently recognized as distinct species.^[5][6]

• T. l. labradorides (Boissonneau, 1840): The nominate subspecies, it is found in western and central Colombia and western Ecuador.
• T. l. chaupensis Chapman, 1925: Found from southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru. It is similar to the nominate, but is greener in color, with a paler abdomen, no gold on the forehead, and golden-green margins on the primary flight feathers.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Painting of metallic-green tanager (below) with a golden-naped tanager (above)
• 
  A metallic-green tanager eating fruit.