Scarlet Tanagers
Tanager Information ... Tanager Species
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The Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, is a medium-sized songbird of the Tanager family, Thraupidae.
Description:
The Scarlet Tanager is about 7 in. (18 cm) long. As in most tanagers, only the male has brilliant plumage; it is scarlet with black wings, tail, and beak. Females are yellowish on the underparts and olive on top, with olive-brown wings and tail. Adults have pale stout smooth bills.
The Scarlet Tanager is the only species of Tanagers that undergo seasonal changes in its plumage. Each fall, the male Scarlet Tanager changes his strikingly beautiful red and black plumage to a more drab olive green pretty much the same as the female Scarlet Tanager's plumage.
Distribution:
Winters in nothwestern South America, arrives in U.S. through April, moving into the northern U.S. and Canada by early to mid-May. Only five species migrate to North America; of these the scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) has the widest range in the United States. These birds do best in the forest interior, where they are less exposed to predators and nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird. Their numbers are declining in some areas due to forest fragmentation.
Breeding / Nesting:
Their breeding habitat is large forested areas, especially with oaks, across eastern North America. Breeding occurs from May to August. Females build shallow, saucer-shaped nests in a week or less from twigs, rootlets, coarse grass, and weed stems, and line them with fine grasses and pine needles. They are placed anywhere from 4-75 feet above ground. Four to five pale blue-green eggs with brown speckles are incubated for 13-14 days. Though they are brooded by females only, both parents bring food to the nest. The nest is kept clean and the droppings are swallowed or carried away in the bill. The young are able to leave the nest about 9-15 days after hatching.
Diet:
These birds are often out of sight, foraging high in trees, sometimes flying out to catch insects in flight. insects (beetles, bugs, butterflies, moth, grasshoppers, locusts) with some fruit (mulberry, blackberry).
Relevant Web Resources: Naturesong (very nice photo of the Scarlet Tanager, and Song) ... Scarlet Tanager (Naturesound - Photo & Sound File) ... Scarlet Tanager - Piranga Olivacea (USGS - Photos, ID tips, Distribution and more) ... Incubation / Fledging Times ... Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology ... Birds of Nova Scotia ... Michigan Gov ... Smithsonian
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