Eric Gofreed
Well-Known Member
It’s Winged Wednesday! Where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, swooping, sunbathing, or just striking a sassy pose, we want to see your favorite winged wonders. Birds, bugs, bats, or butterflies—if it’s got wings, it’s fair game. Share up to six photos each week!
This week, I’m celebrating the living crayons of the rainforest: Tanagers.
If you’ve ever looked at a bird and thought, “Surely that color isn’t allowed in nature,” it was probably a tanager. These birds don’t blend in—they detonate into view. They look like a box of neon markers exploded in the canopy.
Tanagers aren’t colored. They’re pigmented with intent.
In the rainforest, nature skips subtlety and grabs the paint bucket with both hands. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if an art student got locked in a botanical garden with a six-pack of acrylics and no adult supervision, this is it. Each tanager wears a hue no sane painter would dare mix—and somehow, every one of them pulls it off.
So here it is: my unauthorized rainforest color wheel. One species per swatch.
Golden Tanagers
Pigment: Midas Overdid It
This isn’t just gold—it’s gold with ambition. The kind of yellow that panicked halfway through becoming a nugget and decided to reinvent itself as a bird.
Shimmers like a bribe and glows like it knows it.
Saffron-crowned Tanager
Pigment: Royal Curry Glow
Imagine a monarch who dropped his crown in turmeric and said, “This is fine.” This shade rules with spice and ceremony, a color equal parts sacred offering and condiment emergency.
Scrub Tanager
Pigment: Rebellious Teal Gradient
Blue-green in that “don’t put me in a box” kind of way. It’s what happens when a wave gets jealous of a peacock.
Fades like a teenager’s dyed hair: stylish, moody, and more expressive than helpful.
Flame-colored Tanager
Pigment: Arson Sunset
This is orange-red that didn’t read the safety label. It’s not inspired by fire—it is fire with feathers. If it had a scent, it’d be singed optimism and smoked citrus peel.
Black-capped Tanager
Pigment: Secret Identity Indigo
A slick midnight blue that masquerades as black until the light hits just right. This color definitely has a second passport and a hobby that requires gloves. It’s espionage—but make it avian.
This week, I’m celebrating the living crayons of the rainforest: Tanagers.
If you’ve ever looked at a bird and thought, “Surely that color isn’t allowed in nature,” it was probably a tanager. These birds don’t blend in—they detonate into view. They look like a box of neon markers exploded in the canopy.
Tanagers aren’t colored. They’re pigmented with intent.
In the rainforest, nature skips subtlety and grabs the paint bucket with both hands. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if an art student got locked in a botanical garden with a six-pack of acrylics and no adult supervision, this is it. Each tanager wears a hue no sane painter would dare mix—and somehow, every one of them pulls it off.
So here it is: my unauthorized rainforest color wheel. One species per swatch.
Golden Tanagers
Pigment: Midas Overdid It
This isn’t just gold—it’s gold with ambition. The kind of yellow that panicked halfway through becoming a nugget and decided to reinvent itself as a bird.
Shimmers like a bribe and glows like it knows it.
Saffron-crowned Tanager
Pigment: Royal Curry Glow
Imagine a monarch who dropped his crown in turmeric and said, “This is fine.” This shade rules with spice and ceremony, a color equal parts sacred offering and condiment emergency.
Scrub Tanager
Pigment: Rebellious Teal Gradient
Blue-green in that “don’t put me in a box” kind of way. It’s what happens when a wave gets jealous of a peacock.
Fades like a teenager’s dyed hair: stylish, moody, and more expressive than helpful.
Flame-colored Tanager
Pigment: Arson Sunset
This is orange-red that didn’t read the safety label. It’s not inspired by fire—it is fire with feathers. If it had a scent, it’d be singed optimism and smoked citrus peel.
Black-capped Tanager
Pigment: Secret Identity Indigo
A slick midnight blue that masquerades as black until the light hits just right. This color definitely has a second passport and a hobby that requires gloves. It’s espionage—but make it avian.
