The palm tanager (Thraupis palmarum) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder from Nicaragua south to Bolivia, Paraguay and southern Brazil.[1] [2] It also breeds on Trinidad and, since 1962, on Tobago. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is known by colloquial names such as the "palmiste" on American Spanish countries (Colombian pronn: "pūlmist"), Brazil Pipira-verde (Portuguese pron: "pəəpəərā-værd") and the "green jean" in American English.[3]
Adult palm tanagers are 19cm (07inches) long and weigh 36g. They are grey to dull olive-green. The flight feathers are blackish, and the long tail is blackish edged with green. A yellow wingbar shows in flight. Sexes are similar, although females may be somewhat paler.
It occurs in semi-open areas including cultivation and gardens. The bulky cup nest is built in a tree, usually a palm, or under the eaves of a house, and the female incubates three, sometimes two, brown-blotched cream eggs for 14 days, with another 17 days to fledging.
Palm tanagers are social, restless but unwary birds which eat a wide variety of small fruit. They also regularly take some nectar, flower petals and insects, including caterpillars.[4] The song is fast and squeaky.