This Bird Is So Vividly Green It Looks Just Like A Neon Highlighter

They say it's greener on the other side, but for this bird, it's on all sides!

Sophia

• Published in Animal Stories
• March 2, 2022

Green is such an underrated color, even though we literally see it all around us. Green symbolizes life, health, nature, productivity, abundance, prosperity, freshness, balance—and just about any positive attribute we can think of in our lives.

It's one thing to see green in leaves of nature, but how about seeing it on a fluttery creature?

Meet the Glistening Green Tanager, a bird so green it almost glows in the dark. It is clad in a beautiful shade of emerald green that makes it look glowy and fluorescent, even from afar.

Aside from the green, the Glistening Green Tanager is characterized by tiny tuffs of orange and gray feathers behind its eyes. Both males and females in this species actually look alike, however, females have a less saturated shade of green.

They are usually seen in pairs or alone, and like any other tanagers in the South American areas like the Green-headed and Grass-green Tanagers, it joins mixed-species flocks that forage and move through the woods while searching for fruit and insects.

True to its name, this particular species of tanagers truly glisten even from afar, and even though nature itself is full of the multifold of green colors, their glowing plumage makes them distinct enough to sometimes be seen in action!

Meet the Glistening Green Tanager, a bird you would expect to blend in with nature because of its green color—but it is practically fluorescent.

You would think that this bird would be pretty hard to spot in the wild, given its green color. But is so green that it almost glows when you see it!

Even though they don't have a beautiful combination of multiple colors, it's green plumage is bright enough to make it distinguishable amongst the green treetops.

This is a raw photo of them, unedited, and have not been enhanced in any way.

And yes, they are really that green. They look like those fluorescent highlighters we use to have in school!

There may be some color correction set in photos that are shared online, but this one is a good enough proof of what it looks like in real life.

Sometimes spotting them in nature can be a little bit tricky, so when this happens, they can always be identified by their wheezy and lispy calls and vocalizations. Some groups, such as those in Ecuador, exhibit more complicated song arrangements that have a series of ticking notes rapidly produced, and ends in a jumbled high-pitch group of notes.

They feed on fruits, however, they prefer small insects and larvae.

Most tanagers feed on fruits, but this one visits the fruiting trees a little less than others because they like to consume insects more. They can be hard to keep an eye on since they are almost always searching for prey.

It hangs upside down like a bat, and gleans insects from the foliage undersides. They may also come to feeding stations that are stocked with fruits.

Glistening Green Tanagers are tagged under the Least Concern category, and hopefully, won't be depleting in numbers any time soon. They are just one of the many wonders that nature has to offer!

Comment down your thoughts, or share this article for all your family and friends to marvel over this bird!

Sophia