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Western Tanager

Piranga ludovicianaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Tanagers (Thraupidae)
Western Tanager Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Sepia brown in young; Grayish brown or black in adult males; Reddish brown to burnt umber in adult females.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Red
  • Forehead Color: Red
  • Nape Color: Yellow
  • Throat Color: Red
  • Cere color: No Data
Western Tanager Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 18 cm (7.25 in)
  • Weight: 28 g (1 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: Red, White, Black, Yellow
  • Underparts: Yellow
  • Upperparts: Black and yellow.
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Western Tanager Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 28-30 cm (11-12 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Yellow
  • Under Tail: Yellow
  • Leg Color: Gray
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Family Tanager (Thraupidae)_blue
Species Piranga ludoviciana
Length7.25 Inches
Wingspan11.5 Inches

Western Tanager

Western Tanager: Medium-sized tanager with brilliant red head, bright yellow body, black back, wings, and tail. Wings have two bars: upper bar is yellow, lower bar is white. Legs and feet are gray. Swift direct flight on rapidly beating wings. It was first recorded on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

● Song: "che-ree, che-ree, che-weeu, cheweeu", "pit-r-rick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Western Tanager: Eats insects and berries; forages in trees and shrubs, or catches insects in the air.

● Breeding & nesting: Western Tanager: Three to five brown marked, blue eggs are laid in a frail, shallow saucer nest woven from rootlets, weed stalks, and bark strips, and saddled on a horizontal branch of a Douglas fir, spruce, pine, or oak. Female incubates eggs for about 13 days.

● Similar species: Western Tanager: Flame-colored Tanager has dark bill, bolder white wing-bars, and darkly streaked back. Scarlet Tanager (female and juvenile) has olive-colored back and lacks wing-bars.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Western Tanager Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Western Tanager: Breeds from southern Alaska and Mackenzie southward and winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include open coniferous forests.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1 Ounces