Bluish-gray Saltator
Saltator coerulescens
Fairly common, but often retiring, in tropical lowlands of both drier and more humid areas. Occurs across much of South America, from Colombia to Argentina. Can be found from sea level to around 1,500 m elevation. Favors forest edge, second growth thickets, hedges, and tangles, especially with morning glory flowers, which it munches quietly. Note plain bluish-gray coloration with warm tawny vent and short white eyebrow. Immature looks slightly different, with a yellowish wash to the face and upperparts. Listen for sweet song with slurred whistles.
Identification
On average, the bluish-grey saltator is 20 cm long and weighs 52 g. The plumage depends on age and subspecies, but in general this bird has grey or greyish-olive upperparts, a white stripe over the eye, a narrow white throat, a grey breast and a buff or cinnamon belly.<p>The common call is a long-drawn upward slur, ch'wheeet or ch'kweeee, sometimes with a more elaborate beginning, as hi'whee chu weeeeh. The song is a warble, usually fairly short, varying from nasal to mellow.
Taxonomy
The bluish-grey saltator was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under the binomial name Saltator coerulescens. Vieillot based his description on the "Habia de la Ceja Blanca" that Félix de Azara had described in 1802 in his book on birds in Paraguay and the Río de la Plata. The specific epithet coerulescens is derived from Latin and means "bluish".<p>Saltator coerulescens was formerly known as the greyish saltator and included two subspecies groups: grandis (including brevicaudus, hesperis, plumbiceps, vigorsii and yucatanensis) and olivascens (including brewsteri and plumbeus). In 2021, they were recognized as separate species, the cinnamon-bellied saltator (S. grandis) and olive-grey (or Caribbean grey) saltator (S. olivascens). With these as separate species, S. coerulescens includes the subspecies azarae, mutus and superciliaris.
- Scientific name
- Saltator coerulescens
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1817
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Saltator
Range and habitat
This species occurs in a wide range of semi-open habitats, such as woodlands, scrub and edges of forest (it avoids the interior of dense forests) in tropical and subtropical South America, including northern Argentina, western Uruguay, Paraguay, widely in Brazil (being replaced by the olive-grey saltator in the extreme north near the borders with the Guianas and Venezuela), Bolivia, eastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, and southeastern Colombia (being replaced by the olive-grey saltator in central and northern parts of the country).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The bluish-grey saltator feeds on fruits, buds and slow-moving arthropods. It forages at low and middle levels, sometimes in pairs or small groups and sometimes with mixed-species flocks that may include other saltators.<p>The two pale blue subelliptic eggs per clutch measure some 23–31.5 mm long by about 17–22 mm wide and weigh about 5 grams each. They look unusual for this genus as they have a circle of blackish-brown hairstreaks and dots around the blunt end. They are laid in a bulky cup nest 2–4 m high in a tree.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Massive seabird of warm tropical oceans and coastlines. Overall black with extremely long, deeply forked tail and angular wings. Male completely black with inflatable red pouch on throat (not seen away from breeding colonies) and bluish eyering. In good light, black coloration can show purplish sheen. Adult female has white chest and golden bar on shoulder. Young birds have white head and breast. Often soars for long periods and flies with slow wingbeats. Steals food from other seabirds. Surprisingly acrobatic during aerial chases despite its large size. Limited range overlap with Great Frigatebird (mainly offshore western Mexico and in the Galapagos); identification is complicated by age and sex variation. Adult males are extremely similar; females and immatures best identified by exact pattern of white on head and breast, bill color, and eyering color.
Red-billed Firefinch
Lagonosticta senegala
The combination of a red bill, yellow-green eye-ring, and brown (not black) undertail are characteristic of this firefinch. The male has a pink face, crown, and underparts, while the female is mostly brown with a small pink patch between the eye and bill and a pink upper tail. Pairs and small flocks are resident in a variety of grassy savanna habitats and in cultivation, where they feed on the ground for seeds and fly into trees when disturbed. The species may join mixed-species flocks and often drinks or bathes. It gives a melodic “swee-tee-eeer” song and a spitting, tinny “prrrrrt” call. The Bar-breasted Firefinch is very similar to the Red-billed Firefinch, but has a brown (not reddish) crown; the Brown Firefinch has a brown rump.
Usambara Greenbul
Phyllastrephus albigula
A very small, warbler-like greenbul with an olive-green back, pale underparts, an olive-washed gray cap and nape, and a yellow or orange eye. Found in montane forest at middle elevations. Often joins mixed-species flocks. Very similar in appearance to Tiny Greenbul, but found at higher elevations and darker overall, with an olive-green wash to the crown and nape. Similar in overall coloration to Yellow-streaked Greenbul, but much smaller, with a pale eye. Voice apparently very similar to Tiny Greenbul’s. The call is a rough chattering trill that is often mixed with the song: an accelerating, syncopated series of low nasal notes.
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