Grayish Saltator

The Grayish Saltator, Saltator coerulescens, is a bird of the cardinal family. This species occurs in Mexico, Central America and South
America, south to Peru and northern Argentina in open woodland, plains and scrub. There are 13 subspecies, several of which are considered as full species by some authors, mainly on the basis of vocalizations.

On average it is 7.8 inches long and weighs 1.8 ounces. The plumage depends on age and subspecies, but in general this bird has gray or grayish-olive upper parts, a white stripe over the eye, a narrow white throat, a gray breast and a buff or cinnamon belly. The common call is a long-drawn upward slur, sometimes with a more elaborate beginning. The song is a warble, usually fairly short, varying from nasal to mellow.

The Grayish Saltator feeds on fruit, buds and slow-moving insects. It forages at low and mid levels, sometimes with mixed species flocks that may include other saltators. Two or three blue eggs are laid in a bulky cup nest 6.5 to 13 inches high in a tree.