The blue-and-black tanager was first described as
Tanagra (Aglaia) labradorides by
Auguste Boissonneau in 1840 on the basis of a specimen from
Santa Fe,
Colombia. The generic name
Tangara comes from the
Tupí word
tangara, meaning dancer. The specific name
labradorides is from the French
pierre de Labrador (
feldspar), and the
Ancient Greek -
ides, meaning resembling, referring to the species' metallic blue-green color, which resembles that of feldspar. Metallic-green tanager is the official
common name designated by the
International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). The metallic-green tanager is one of 27 species in the genus
Tangara. It was previously thought to form a species group with the
blue-browed and
golden-naped tanagers. However,
phylogenetic studies have shown that the golden-naped tanager is only distantly related to the other two species in the group. Its relation with the blue-browed tanager is also unclear, as some studies have shown the metallic-green tanager to be
sister to the blue-browed tanager, but others have found this grouping to be
paraphyletic.
Subspecies There are two recognized subspecies of the metallic-green tanager.
DNA studies have shown that the rate of
divergence between in
nucleotide sequences between the two subspecies is higher than that of several other tanagers currently recognized as distinct species. •
T. l. labradorides (
Boissonneau, 1840): The
nominate subspecies, it is found in western and central Colombia and western
Ecuador. •
T. l. chaupensis Chapman, 1925: Found from southeastern Ecuador and northern
Peru. It is similar to the nominate, but is greener in color, with a paler
abdomen, no gold on the forehead, and golden-green margins on the
primary flight feathers. ==Gallery==