The Story
I photographed this Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) at the Finca Ecoturística Canaguaros, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It ranges from Mexico to northeastern Bolivia and northern Brazil, and on Trinidad and Tobago it is called the blue jean. It lives mainly on fruit, with some nectar and insects. It is a common, restless, noisy and confiding bird that thrives around people, even taking cultivated papayas. It nests in a deep cup in a high tree fork or a crevice in a building.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400. IUCN lists the Blue-gray Tanager as Least Concern, and its numbers appear to be growing.
©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