Birdr
  • Today
  • Life List
  • Community
Sign in
  • Today
  • Life List
  • Map
  • Trip Planner
  • Community
  • Field Guide
  • Skills
  • Gear Guides
  • Merch
Sign in
Made for birdrs, by birdrs  ·  Birdr ·  v0.1
Field GuideBlogAboutGear GuidesTrip PlannerCommunityBirdr ProPrivacy PolicyTermsSupport
Back to Field Guide
Blue-black Grassquit

Blue-black Grassquit

Volatinia jacarina

Range & Recent Observations

Blue-black Grassquitis a year-round resident and doesn't follow a migration flyway. See the Range tab for where it lives.

Last Spotted Near You

View on eBirdWikipedia

About the Blue-black Grassquit

The blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) is a small Neotropical bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Volatinia. It is a common and widespread bird that breeds from southern Mexico through Central America, and South America as far as northern Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay, and in Trinidad and Tobago. A male was also observed in Graham County, Arizona, on July 15 and July 17, 2023. This species is sexually dimorphic; the male is glossy blue with some white under the wing. The female is brown above and pale buff with darker streaks below.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Volatinia jacarina
Family
Tanagers and Allies
Order
Passeriformes

Similar species

Other members of the tanagers and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • Azure-rumped Tanager Poecilostreptus cabanisi
  • Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
  • Black-faced Grassquit Melanospiza bicolor
  • Black-headed Saltator Saltator atriceps
  • Black-throated Shrike-Tanager Lanio aurantius
  • Blue Dacnis Dacnis cayana
  • Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
  • Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
  • Chestnut-throated Seedeater Sporophila telasco
  • Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer Diglossa baritula
  • Cinnamon-bellied Saltator Saltator grandis
  • Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater Sporophila torqueola

Know when the Blue-black Grassquit turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

How rare bird alerts work →

Gear for spotting Blue-black Grassquit

Optics

Best Binoculars for Beginners

You don't need to spend a fortune. These four pairs will get you birding confidently on day one.

8 min readRead guide
Cameras

Cameras for Bird Photography

From phone adapters to dedicated rigs, here's what actually works for capturing birds in the field.

12 min readRead guide
Optics

Spotting Scopes for Distance Birding

Essential for shorebirds, raptors, and anything too far for binoculars. Our tested picks.

9 min readRead guide