Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager, male breeding plumage

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Scarlet Tanager, female

Scarlet Tanager, male molting into nonbreeding plumage

Scarlet Tanager nest

Scarlet Tanager eggs

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A striking black-winged red bird, the Scarlet Tanager is a common species of the eastern forest interior. Despite its brilliant coloring it is often overlooked because of its rather secretive behavior and its preference for the forest canopy.

Description

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Male distinctive: bright red bird with black wings and tail.

• Size: 16-17 cm (6-7 in)
• Wingspan: 25-29 cm (10-11 in)
• Weight: 23-38 g (0.81-1.34 ounces)

Sex Differences

Breeding male bright scarlet with black wings and tail. Female and nonbreeding male olive-green with black wings and tail.

Sound

Song a series of short, burry syllables, reminiscent of a robin with a sore throat. Call a springy "chik-burr."

Conservation Status

Sensitive to forest fragmentation in parts of its range.

Other Names

Tangara écarlate (French)
Tángara escarlata (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• On the wintering grounds in South America the Scarlet Tanager joins mixed species foraging flocks with flycatchers, antbirds, woodcreepers, and resident tropical tanagers.

• The female Scarlet Tanager sings a song similar to the male's, but softer, shorter, and less harsh. She sings in answer to the male's song and while she is gathering nesting material.

• The response of the Scarlet Tanager to habitat fragmentation varies from place to place. In the heart of its range in the Northeast, it can be found in small forest patches. In the Midwest, similar sized forest patches would have no tanagers. These conclusions are based on Project Tanager at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; more information can be found here and here.

Sources used to construct this page:

Mowbray, T. 1999. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). In The Birds of North America, No. 479 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.