Emerald tanager

Emerald tanager
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Tangara
Species:	T. florida
Binomial name
Tangara florida (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1869)
Distribution
Synonyms[2]
Calliste florida Sclater & Salvin, 1869

The emerald tanager (Tangara florida) is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Described by the English ornithologists PL Sclater and Osbert Salvin in 1869, it is a medium-sized species that has a length of 10.6–13 cm (4.2–5.1 in) and a mass of 18–20.5 g (0.63–0.72 oz). It can be identified by its bright green plumage, with black streaking on the back and wings, and a black auricular patch and beak. It also has yellow on the crown and rump. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism, with the females being duller and having yellow-green in place of yellow on the head.

The emerald tanager mainly inhabits humid lowland forest, montane evergreen forest, and secondary forest at elevations of 500–900 m (1,600–3,000 ft) but can be found from 100–1,200 m (330–3,940 ft). It is omnivorous and feeds mainly on fruit, flowers, and flower buds, supplementing its diet with arthropods. It breeds from March to May in Costa Rica and from January to April in Colombia. The emerald tanager makes cup nests out of moss, where eggs are laid in clutches of two.

It is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List due to its sufficiently large range and a lack of significant population decline, but is threatened by habitat destruction.