Blue-and-black Tanager

Tangara vassorii

Thrives at 10,000 feet in the Andes where most birds tap out. Electric cobalt and jet black, built for altitude.

Population: Global population size not quantified by BirdLife/IUCN; historically described as fairly common (before taxonomic splits), current population trend decreasing due to ongoing Andean forest loss (~1.5% forest decline in range over past decade)
Habitat: Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, dwarf (elfin) forest, secondary forest, forest edges, and shrubby vegetation near tree line; elevational range roughly 1,020-3,760 m (most commonly recorded 1,300-3,500 m)
Fun fact: The Blue-and-black Tanager occurs at the highest elevation of any Tangara species and is the only member of its genus regularly found right up to the tree line.
Range: Andes of northwestern South America from southern Venezuela (Trujillo, Táchira) through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to Bolivia; three subspecies recognized (nominate T. v. vassorii, T. v. branickii, T. v. atrocoerulea) replacing one another north-to-south along the Andean chain — corrected from first-pass claim of only two subspecies split at the Marañón River
Diet: Fruit (especially Miconia berries) and arthropods, gleaned while hopping along moss-covered branches and inspecting leaf undersides, typically in mixed-species foraging flocks
Size: 0.13 m

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