Moss-backed Tanager

The moss-backed tanager (Bangsia edwardsi) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. It is a chunky, large-headed tanager with moss-green upperparts, dark blue-tinged dark green wings, olive green underparts, a bright golden yellow patch on the chest, and black head with shining blue sides. It is endemic to the Western Andes of western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, where it inhabits dense, humid Pacific slope forests. It feeds on insects and fruit. It is classified as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its sufficiently large range and population. == Taxonomy == The moss-backed tanager was formally described as Buthraupis edwardsi by the American zoologist Daniel Giraud Elliot in 1865 based on a specimen from Colombia. It is named after Henri Milne-Edwards, a French zoologist. The American zoologist Thomas E. Penard moved the moss-backed tanager into the newly-erected genus Bangsia in 1919, alongside the other smaller, shorter-tailed Buthraupis species. The classification of Bangsia remained a controversial topic until the 2000s, when genetic analyses showed that Buthraupis and Bangsia are not sister genera. Within the genus Bangsia, the moss-backed tanager is most closely related to the gold-ringed tanager. ==…