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Green and Gold Tanager

Tangara schrankii
Another day, another pretty bird. Today's feathered friend is one of the 49 species found within the Tanager genus, Tangara. Meet the appropriately named Green and Gold Tanager!

While it would be appropriate for these guys to live up near Lambeau Field (horrible football reference, I'm sorry), they are actually found in the tropical and subtropical forests and swamps of the Amazon Basin.

Green and Gold Tanagers are omnivores that forage up in the trees for fruits, nuts, seeds, and insects. They also build their nests up in the trees, constructing small cup-shaped structures in which they lay 2-3 reddish-brown eggs. Females do just about all of the incubating and feeding, and the chicks fledge only 15 days after hatching.

While it appears that the population is declining due to habitat loss, the rate is not nearly fast enough for there to be major concern at this time. The species also has a pretty huge range, placing them as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : South America
Size : Length up to 5in (13cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Thraupidae -- Genus : Tangara -- Species : T. schrankii

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