Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana · Cardinals and Allies
The Western Tanager is a striking songbird of western North America, known for the male's fiery red and yellow plumage. Despite their bright colors, these birds can be surprisingly inconspicuous as they forage high in tree canopies. They are a quintessential woodland species during summer, filling forests with their distinctive calls and songs.
Explore the full field guideMigratoryMedium-sizedInsectivorousConiferous forests
5 calls·first heard Aug 31·last 25d ago
When it's heardpeak 6a · fall
5a12p9p
How to know it
- Bright yellow body, black wings and tail, and a distinctive orange-red head. Wings have two bars, one yellow and one white.
- Duller yellow-green overall with a grayish back and wings, and two yellowish-white wing bars. Some may show a reddish tinge on the face.
- Similar to females, with dimmer yellow-green and blackish plumage. First-year males may have little to no red on their heads.
- All plumages feature a pale, stout, and pointed bill, thicker than an insectivore's but thinner than a seed-eater's.