Perching Birds
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga
olivacea
Description
7 1/2" (19 cm). In breeding plumage,
male brilliant scarlet with black wings and tail. In nonbreeding
plumage, female and male olive green; male has black
wings.
Voice
Song a hurried, burry, repetitive warble,
somewhat like that of a robin. Call note an emphatic, nasal
chip-bang.
Habitat
Chiefly mature woodlands, especially oak
and pine.
Nesting
3 or 4 brown-spotted greenish eggs in a
shallow nest of twigs and stems lined with grass and placed on a
horizontal branch.
Range
Breeds from extreme southeastern Canada to
east-central United States. Winters in tropics.
Discussion
The brilliantly colored male Scarlet
Tanager gleams in the sunlight but is often difficult to see in
thick foliage, especially if the bird is motionless or moving slowly
from branch to branch high up in the tree canopy. It is conspicuous
only when perched on a dead tree limb or when feeding on the ground
during a cold, rainy spell. During late summer or early autumn, some
of the males may show a patchwork plumage of red and green as they
undergo a molt to olive green, except for their wings and tails,
which remain black throughout the winter.
Perching Birds