Grass-green Tanager

Grass-green Tanager

Chlorornis riefferii

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Podocarpus National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

297 Verified sightings at Podocarpus National Park From 2019 to 2026
564 In all 4 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Grass-green Tanager

The grass-green tanager (Chlorornis riefferii) is a small South America bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Chlorornis. The grass-green tanager is 20 cm in length and weighs 53g. It lives in and around subtropical and temperate forests in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru at elevations of 1500–3350 m.

It is seen in pairs or in groups of 3-6 individuals. It forages mostly on the upper half of short trees and eats fruits and insects. It is known to perch almost horizontally. Its nest is made of mosses and ferns, and its eggs are gray with light purple-grey dots.

The grass-green tanager was formally described in 1840 by the French ornithologist Auguste Boissonneau from a specimen collected near Bogotá in Colombia. He coined the binomial name Tanagra riefferii. The species is now the only member of the genus Chlorornis that was introduced in 1850 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek khlōros meaning "green" and ornis meaning "bird". The specific epithet was chosen to honour the collector Gabriel Rieffer. The grass-green tanager has a sister relationship to the genus Cnemathraupis... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:42

Ecuador · 2023

© Christiana Fattorelli · XC830004 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call1:04

Ecuador · 2012

© Galo Real · XC676308 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:29

Ecuador · 2002

© Jonas Nilsson · XC275850 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
2 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
3 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
4 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Grass-green Tanager in Podocarpus National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Grass-green Tanager sighting in Podocarpus National Park on a given day, based on 297 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 446 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Grass-green Tanager in Podocarpus National Park?

February, April, July and November

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Grass-green Tanager in Podocarpus National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June and October, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Grass-green Tanager?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grass-green Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Podocarpus National Park the best place to see a Grass-green Tanager?

Yes

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Grass-green Tanager sightings, Podocarpus National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Los Nevados National Natural Park (Colombia, under 5%) and Chingaza National Natural Park (Colombia, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Grass-green Tanager live in Podocarpus National Park?

Same family: Thraupidae

The closest relatives of the Grass-green Tanager that you can see in Podocarpus National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Lacrimose Mountain-Tanager (about 40%), Masked Flowerpiercer (about 40%) and Blue-necked Tanager (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Grass-green Tanager sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Grass-green Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Podocarpus National Park (297 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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