A small Strikingly beautiful multihued bird that likes to inhabit the canopy of humid forested regions.

Meet the Green-headed Tanager

The green-headed tanager (Tangara seledon) is a colorful bird that typically inhabits the humid Atlantic forest. Surprisingly, its flashy plumage serves as a good camouflage among the vegetation. The male displays a bright and complex plumage, with aquamarine-green on the head, nape, and chin, and a yellow-green broad band crossing the nape and upper mantle. The back and scapulars are black, while the rump is orange-yellow and the uppertail-coverts are bright apple-green.

The female looks similar to the male but is slightly duller in appearance.

Juvenile birds are less vibrant than adults.

This species is prevalent in southeastern Brazil, adjacent parts of southeastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina.

The Green-headed Tanager is commonly found in orchards, parks, and gardens, and in forest borders and clearings where there are trees and shrubs. It can be seen from lowlands up to 900 meters, but it is more frequently found at lower elevations.

The Green-headed Tanager primarily feeds on fruits and arthropods, including cultivated and wild fruits, berries from Bromeliads, and a variety of other sources. It forages in pairs or small groups, sometimes up to 20 birds, and may join mixed-species flocks for foraging. The Green-headed Tanager is an active forager that performs acrobatic movements while hopping along branches, gleaning from leaf surfaces and bark, and manipulating fruits with its bill.

During the breeding season, the Green-headed Tanager is monogamous and builds a compact cup-shaped nest with grᴀss and leaves, lining it with soft materials. Both parents participate in nest-building, egg-laying, and incubation. Courtship feeding by the male to the female is occasionally reported. The female lays 2-3 pale eggs, and the incubation period lasts 13-14 days. The young fledge about 14-18 days after hatching and still depend on their parents for food for several weeks after fledging. A second brood is often attempted, and young from previous broods may accompany the adults for several months during the first year.

Although the Green-headed Tanager has disappeared from some recently deforested areas and is absent from remnant woodlands in southeastern Brazil, the species is not currently threatened. It is uncommon to fairly common locally, and populations are often confined to protected areas.