Photo: Ingrid Torres de Macedo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Turquoise Tanager
Tangara mexicana
Turquoise Tanager (Tangara mexicana) — Songbirds & Perching Birds of South America.
Found across 8 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Turquoise Tanager (Tangara mexicana) is a member of the Thraupidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 20.5 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Passeriformes
- Family Thraupidae Tanagers & Allies
- Genus Tangara
- Species mexicana
Quick facts
- Weight
- 20.5 g
- Diet
- Omnivores
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Least Concern
Vulnerable
Least Concern
Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Turquoise Tanager is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Behaviour
A bird of semi-open forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The Turquoise Tanager is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Turquoise Tanager (Tangara mexicana) belongs to the Thraupidae family of the order Passeriformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA Trinidad, the Guianas, and Amazonia.
It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 20.5 g, with a wing length of about 7 cm and a tail of around 5 cm.
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
The species has a mapped global range of roughly 7 million km².
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Turquoise Tanager?
The Turquoise Tanager is a small bird that weighs around 20.5 g.
Where does the Turquoise Tanager live?
The Turquoise Tanager is found across South America with a range covering SA Trinidad, the Guianas, and Amazonia, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the Turquoise Tanager belong to?
The Turquoise Tanager (Tangara mexicana) belongs to the Thraupidae family, in the order Passeriformes.
What does the Turquoise Tanager eat?
The Turquoise Tanager is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Does the Turquoise Tanager migrate?
The Turquoise Tanager is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Turquoise Tanager endangered?
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
What sound does the Turquoise Tanager make?
1 real field recording of the Turquoise Tanager — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Turquoise Tanager's range?
The Turquoise Tanager has a mapped global range of about 7 million km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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Guides for this bird
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How to choose a bird feeder for garden songbirds — the feeder styles compared, the seed they prefer, where to hang it, and how to keep birds safe. A decision framework grounded in real data, with no mystery picks.
Meet the Thraupidae
A field guide to the Thraupidae family — 394 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.