The green-winged saltator (Saltator similis ) is a species of saltator in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and ranges into the southern cerrado and the pantanal.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
Slightly smaller than other species of the same genus, it has the same strong black beak that gave rise to the common name of these birds. As in the Saltator maximus, it has a green back, gray tail and sides of the head. The superciliary stripe is the longest of the three species (adult bird), with the "mustache" less defined and the throat all white. Underneath, gray dominates on the sides, becoming orange brown and white in the center of the belly. The wings are greenish. The juvenile does not have such a long stripe, being the same failed or nonexistent, right after leaving the nest. Some juveniles are striped below.
Very energetic and fortified beak (which gave the name “iron crack”), with tail differentiated in size. There are no bodily differences between males and females.
Its singing varies slightly from region to region, although it maintains the same timbre.
It lives in edges of forests and clearings. It is always associated with forests, occupying the middle and upper strata. It is distributed in the central part of Brazil and the northeast, in Bahia in the south of the country, Rio Grande do Sul and throughout the Southeast region, in addition to neighboring international borders, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Saltator similis is a typical omnivore, feeding on fruits, insects, seeds, leaves and flowers (like those of the Ypê). Enjoys the fruits of tapiá or tanheiro (Alchornea glandulosa).The male usually brings food to the female.
The nest, built in bushes 1 to 2 meters high, is a spacious bowl, about 12 centimeters in outer diameter, made with large dry leaves secured by some branches, resulting in a loose construction; small roots and herbs are placed inside. The 2 or 3 eggs, elongated, measure about 29 by 18 millimeters and are light blue or blue-green, with small and large spots on the blunt pole, forming a crown. During the breeding period, he lives strictly with couples, being extremely loyal to a territory.
