Where to See the Multicolored Tanager

in Colombia: A Western Andes Jewel

QUICK FACTS

Species	Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima) — a Colombian endemic, ~12 cm
Status	Globally threatened (VU/NT); a prized, range-restricted endemic
Range	Interior wet montane forest of the Western & north Central Andes
Elevation	Roughly 1,300–2,200 m (records from ~900 m upward)
Best area	Western Andes right above Cali — among the most reliable places on Earth
Behaviour	Travels with mixed-species flocks; visits fruit feeders
On our tour	A star target on the Essential & Photography tours

 

Ask a group of birders to name Colombia's most beautiful endemic and the Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima) will be near the top of every list. Its scientific name nitidissima means "very bright" — and one look explains why. For visitors, the good news is simple: the best place in the world to find the Multicolored Tanager in Colombia is the Western Andes right above Cali, exactly where we are based.

A living jewel: identifying the Multicolored Tanager

This is a small tanager, around 12 centimetres, with a colour pattern that hardly seems real. The male shows a golden-yellow face and throat, a gleaming green nape and wings, a chestnut-and-black ear patch, a creamy-yellow mantle, and electric cerulean-blue underparts broken by a black central belly. Females are similar but duller, lacking the yellow mantle and black belly patch. It belongs to the genus Chlorochrysa, a small group of especially brilliant Andean tanagers — and many who see it call it the finest of them all.

Where to see the Multicolored Tanager

The species is endemic to the interior wet montane forests of Colombia's Western and northern Central Andes, generally between about 1,300 and 2,200 metres. Its range spans several departments, but the most reliable and accessible population is in Valle del Cauca, in the Western Andes above Cali, where it remains a permanent resident — even in relatively small forest fragments.

The famous San Antonio Cloud Forest and the Chicoral area — both recognised Important Bird Areas connected to Los Farallones National Park — are classic sites, and the cloud forest around KM18 on the old Cali–Buenaventura road is one of the best-known spots to look. Here the tanager often appears with mixed-species flocks, so the technique is to find a moving flock and watch for that flash of blue and gold among the commoner tanagers. At several reserves in the area it also visits fruit feeders, which offer the most dependable — and photogenic — encounters.

A field note: the flock that stops your heart

There is a particular gasp guests make the first time a Multicolored Tanager drops into view. I remember a misty morning at a feeder above Cali when a mixed flock rolled through — Blue-necked Tanager, Golden Tanager, Saffron-crowned Tanager — and then, almost casually, the multicolored slipped onto a mossy perch we had set beside the bananas. For a few seconds nobody spoke; then came the soft machine-gun of shutters. It is, without exaggeration, one of the birds people travel to Colombia specifically to see.

Photographing the Multicolored Tanager

For photographers, the Western Andes feeders near Cali are the place to make it happen. The soft, overcast cloud-forest light is perfect for capturing the bird's saturated blues and golds without harsh highlights, and a well-placed natural perch beside the feeder turns a feeding shot into a portfolio image. Because the bird moves fast within flocks, keep your shutter speed up and your autofocus ready — when it lands, you may only have a few seconds. For a full rundown of technique and gear, see our guide to bird photography in Colombia.

Finca la Florida is the best place to Photograph the Multicolored Tanager

Conservation: a bird worth protecting

The Multicolored Tanager is globally threatened, its numbers reduced by the loss of mid-elevation forest across its range. Visiting birders and photographers play a real part in its future: the income from birding tourism gives the private reserves and local communities of the Western Andes a powerful reason to protect the remaining forest fragments this jewel depends on. Seeing one is a privilege — and a small act of conservation.