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Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivaceaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Tanagers (Thraupidae)
Scarlet Tanager Breeding Adult Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Grayish to grayish brown in young of both sexes; Blackish brown in adults.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Bright red
  • Forehead Color: Bright red
  • Nape Color: Bright red
  • Throat Color: Bright red
  • Cere color: No Data
Scarlet Tanager Breeding Adult Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 18 cm (7 in)
  • Weight: 28 g (1 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: Red, Black
  • Underparts: Bright red
  • Upperparts: Bright red with black wings.
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Scarlet Tanager Breeding Adult Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 28-30 cm (11-12 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Black
  • Under Tail: Bright red
  • Leg Color: Gray
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Family Tanager (Thraupidae)_blue
Species Piranga olivacea
Length7 Inches
Wingspan11.5 Inches

Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager: Medium tanager with brilliant red body, black wings, tail. The only bird in North America with this unique plumage. Heavy bill is yellow-gray. Gray legs and feet. Winter male has dull green upperparts, yellow-green underparts, often interspersed with red during molt.

● Song: "querit, queer, query, querit, queer", "chip-churr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Scarlet Tanager: Feeds on insects, fruits, berries, and buds. Forages high in trees, but may seek prey on the ground, or catch insects in the air.

● Breeding & nesting: Scarlet Tanager: Two to five blue green eggs marked with brown are laid in a loose nest made of grass, rootlets, forbs, and twigs, lined with fine grass, forbs, and rootlets, and built on a horizontal branch well out from the trunk, 20 to 30 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Scarlet Tanager: Summer and Hepatic Tanagers are entirely red. Female Summer and Hepatic Tanagers have orange washes on underparts; female Hepatic also has dark bill.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Scarlet Tanager Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Scarlet Tanager: Breeds from extreme southeastern Canada to east-central U.S. Spends winters in northwestern South American tropical forests. Found in deciduous forests, pine-oak woodlands, parks, and suburban areas with large trees.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1 Ounces