Blue-gray Tanager

The Blue-gray Tanager is a gentle, softly colored songbird, its body washed overall in pale bluish-gray that deepens to a brighter, more vivid blue on the shoulder patch and edges of the wings and tail. The subtle, powdery quality of its coloring, combined with an unassuming, confiding manner, has made it one of the most familiar and beloved garden birds across a huge swath of the American tropics.

Often seen in pairs that stay bonded year-round, it is a common and conspicuous presence wherever fruiting trees, feeders, or flowering shrubs are found, readily adapting to parks, gardens, and disturbed habitats alongside people, and frequently seen alongside its close relative, the Palm Tanager.

Key field marks

• Overall soft, pale bluish-gray plumage
• Brighter blue patch on the shoulder (lesser wing coverts)
• Blue edging to the flight feathers and tail
• Stout, tanager-shaped bill

Similar species

• Palm Tanager is closely related and often seen alongside it, but is duller olive-gray to grayish-brown overall, lacking the Blue-gray Tanager's more vivid blue tones and contrasting shoulder patch.
• Glaucous Tanager, found in a more limited range, is paler and grayer overall with less contrast, and does not show the same bright blue shoulder patch.

Habitat

Inhabits gardens, parks, forest edge, second growth, and open woodland, readily adapting to human-altered landscapes.

Range

Widespread from Mexico through Central America and across much of northern and central South America.

Migration

Non-migratory and sedentary, remaining within a fixed home range year-round.

Behavior

Usually seen in pairs that remain together throughout the year, foraging actively in trees and shrubs; often visits garden fruit feeders and readily tolerates human presence.

Voice

A thin, squeaky, wheezing song of simple repeated notes, along with sharp chirping call notes.

Feeding

Feeds on fruit, nectar, and insects, gleaned from foliage or taken from flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs.

Nesting

Builds a cup nest of grass, rootlets, and plant fibers in a tree or shrub, sometimes in a sheltered spot near buildings; lays 2-3 eggs, incubated by the female.