The Story
This is a Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) that I photographed at the Malecón Cameguadua in Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia on June 23, 2017. It ranges from Mexico south to northeast Bolivia and northern Brazil. It lives mainly on fruit but also takes some nectar and insects. It is a common, restless and noisy bird that does well around people and their gardens, usually seen in pairs. The reservoir sits at about 1,370 meters and has two lakes, with the tourist boardwalk, the malecón, on the northern one.
I photographed it with a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM, at 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 400. IUCN lists the Blue-gray Tanager as Least Concern with an increasing population, and Chinchiná is part of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) belongs to the family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List