Blue-gray tanager

Thraupis episcopus

The Blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus) is a bird found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and 1 more countries. Gardens and forest edges from Mexico to Brazil. It eats fruit, insects and other small invertebrates and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Thraupis episcopus
Region	North America
Found in	Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and 1 more countries

🏡 Where the Blue-gray tanager lives

Gardens and forest edges from Mexico to Brazil.

🍽️ What it eats

🍎 Fruit50%
🐛 Insects & bugs40%
🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It is often seen at fruit feeders, with soft blue-gray feathers.

Hear the Blue-gray tanager

Recorded by Xavier Riera (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC928825. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Blue-gray tanager

Where does the Blue-gray tanager live?

The Blue-gray tanager lives in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and 1 more countries. Gardens and forest edges from Mexico to Brazil.

What does the Blue-gray tanager eat?

fruit (about 50%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Blue-gray tanager endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.