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Digital Tobago |
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Digital Photography |
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By Bob Brent |
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I Home I Digital Photography I Wildlife I About/Contact I Site Map I |
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AVIFAUNA INDEX : |
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Avifauna A - Z :Blue - gray Tanager |
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Order : Passeriformes |
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Family : Tanagers (Thraupidae) |
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Name :Blue - gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) |
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Also known as Passerine’s or pearching 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. |
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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. |
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Length : 17cm ( 7 in ) |
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Local Names : Blue jean |
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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. |