Kingdom Animalia Order Passeriformes Genus Thraupis Higher classification Thraupis | Phylum Chordata Family Thraupidae Scientific name Thraupis sayaca Rank Species | |
Similar Thraupis, Bird, Tanager, Palm tanager, Passerine | ||
The sayaca tanager (Thraupis sayaca) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers. It is a common resident in northeastern, central, and southeastern Brazil (Portuguese: sanhaço [sɐ̃ˈɲasu], sanhaço-cinzento [sɐ̃ˈɲasu sĩˈzẽtu]), and Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina (where they are known as celestinos or celestinas). A few are recorded from far southeastern Peru, but its status there is unclear, in part due to the potential of confusion with the very similar juveniles of the blue-grey tanager.
It occurs in a wide range of open to semiopen habitats, but generally avoids the interior of dense forest (such as the Amazon). This tanager visits farmland in search of orchards and adapts readily to urban environment, as long as some arboreal cover and a supply of fruits are available. It feeds on flowers, buds, and insects, and this omnivorous lifestyle has helped it to become perhaps the most — or one of the most — common urban birds in southeastern Brazil, along with the rufous-bellied thrush.
