SAYACA TANAGER Thraupis sayaca
A flash of turquoise disappearing into a tree, followed by another and then another before a chorus of squeaky, off-key calls fills the air. The Sayaca Tanager may not be the most beautiful member of its family and musically he's no Mozart, but he's a welcome and common splash of colour in Paraguayan towns and gardens. Sociable, bold and hyperactive, they are attracted to fruiting trees where flocks gorge themselves greedily, their faces becoming stained with the juices of their plunder. Where they occur in humid forest they are regular members of mixed species frugivorous flocks, and are not afraid to use their larger size to aggressively bully their smaller companions into surrendering the best feeding spots. Here they are a canopy species, descending lower only when tempted by a ripe crop of fruit, but in urban areas, where trees are shorter, they are more easily observed and approached. A nervous bird will soon let you know of its uneasiness at your close proximity, flicking the whole body side to side through a diagonal axis and calling to warn you to keep your distance. To the Paraguayans this bird is known as the Celestino, “the little sky-blue one” an accurate, if slightly unimaginative nickname!!
Click images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE2324PH) Adult, Fuerte Olimpo, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE2325PH) Adult ventral, Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith August 2007).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE2326PH) Adult ventral, location unknown (Frank Fragano undated).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE2337PH) Adult ventral, Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith June 2007).
FIGURE 5 - (FPAVE2327PH) Adult, Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith September 2005).
FIGURE 6 - (FPAVE2328PH) Adult upperwing, Hotel Tirol, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith June 2005).
FIGURE 7 - (FPAVE2329PH) Juvenile, location unknown (Arne Lesterhuis undated).
FIGURE 8 - (FPAVE2330PH) Adult at nest parasitised by Molothrus sp., Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
VIDEO - (FPAVE2331VI) Adult foraging, Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith December 2006).
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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Frank Fragano, Myriam Velázquez and Arne Lesterhuis and is used with their permission.
Thraupis sayaca
1 (FPAVE2332RE) typical song recorded Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith August 2007).
2 (FPAVE2333RE) jumbled song recorded PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 2007).
3 (FPAVE2334RE) typical song recorded Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith November 2009).
4 (FPAVE2335RE) long song recorded Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith November 2009).
5 (FPAVE2336RE) song recorded Quinto Potrero, Departamento Caaguazú (Myriam Velázquez September 2001).
Click the links to hear the calls. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website www.xeno-canto.org - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online