It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the turquoise tanager (Tangara mexicana).

The turquoise tanager was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tanagra brasiliensis.

The adult is mainly dark blue and black, with turquoise edging to the primaries.

The bulky cup nest is built in a tree or shrub, and the female incubates three brown-blotched grey-green eggs.

They eat a wide variety of fruit and also take insects and other arthropods,[8] often gleaned from twigs.