Multicolored Tanager: A Must-See Colombia Endemic on Our Colombia Birding Tour
Colombia is home to over 2,000 species of birds, but even in a country this stacked, the Multicolored Tanager still feels ridiculous.
This Colombian endemic is found only in the Western Andes and northern Central Andes, where it inhabits humid, mossy cloud forest. It is not just colorful in the normal tanager way. It looks like someone took every good color available — green, yellow, blue, chestnut, black, and turquoise — and somehow made the whole thing work.
The scientific name, Chlorochrysa nitidissima, basically gets the point across. Green, gold, shining, brilliant. Fair enough.
What makes it special?
The Multicolored Tanager is one of those birds that immediately reminds you why Colombia is such a world-class birding destination.
- Endemic to Colombia
- Restricted to the Western and Central Andes
- Globally threatened / Near Threatened
- Usually found in humid cloud forest
- Often seen singly or in pairs
- One of the most sought-after tanagers in the country
Males are especially wild-looking, with a yellow face and throat, green upperparts, blue underparts, and contrasting dark markings through the body. Females are similar but a bit duller, which still means absurdly beautiful by normal bird standards.
Seeing one in the field
Despite the colors, Multicolored Tanager is not always an easy bird.
This is a species of cloud forest, canopy edges, fruiting trees, and mixed flocks. Sometimes it appears suddenly, moves quickly, and vanishes before everyone has gotten on it. Other times, with the right local knowledge, timing, and guide network, you can enjoy the kind of views that make you forget how to speak for a second.
On our Colombia: Western & Central Andes Birding Tour, we spend time targeting this species in the Calí region, where a few special sites offer some of the best opportunities to see Multicolored Tanager well — including places where they may come in lower and more visibly around feeding areas.
That is not something to take for granted. A bird like this is much easier when you know where to be, when to be there, and who locally understands the patterns of the site.
Why local guides matter
Multicolored Tanager is a perfect example of why Colombia birding is not just about showing up with binoculars.
The country is enormous, the Andes are complex, and many of the best birds are tied to specific elevations, valleys, forest types, and micro-regions. For this species, local expertise can be the difference between “possible” and “we’re looking at it right now.”
Great local guides know which roads are active, which feeding stations are producing, which fruiting trees are worth checking, and how to keep a group positioned when the forest starts moving.
That matters.
A Colombia endemic worth traveling for
There are plenty of colorful birds in Colombia. Tanagers, hummingbirds, toucans, quetzals, cotingas — the whole thing gets overwhelming fast.
But the Multicolored Tanager stands out because it combines everything birders love about Colombia: beauty, endemism, cloud forest, local conservation, and that slightly chaotic feeling of trying to keep up with a mixed flock in the Andes.
It is not just another pretty bird.
It is one of the birds that makes the Western and Central Andes feel like nowhere else on Earth.
Join us in Colombia to experience this incredible endemic firsthand.
Colombia Birding Tours
BIRDS by BIJS: Western & Central Andes Tour – Join us!
Link 3 -Blog Post ( Colombia Trip Report)
Link 4 – Tour Promo Video
