Cardinals and Allies
Piranga rubra
The Summer Tanager is a striking songbird, with males displaying a vibrant rose-red plumage. Females and immature birds exhibit warm yellow to yellow-green tones, providing effective camouflage within the foliage. This species is known for its distinctive chuckling call and its specialized diet of stinging insects.
Typical adult measurements.
Individuals and populations vary.
01 / The telltale details
Start with shape and behavior. Then look for the smaller details.
Entirely brilliant rose-red plumage with a large, pale bill.
Overall warm orangish-yellow, sometimes described as mustard-yellow, with a pale bill.
Often shows a patchy mix of yellow and red plumage during its first spring.
Both sexes have a noticeably large, thick, blunt-tipped, pale bill.
02 / A place in the world
Breeds in open woodlands, particularly those with oaks, hickories, and mixed pine-oak forests. In western regions, it favors riparian areas with cottonwoods, willows, and mesquite.
Breeds across the southern and eastern United States, extending into northern Mexico. Its wintering grounds stretch from central Mexico through Central America to northern South America, reaching as far south as Bolivia and Brazil.
A long-distance neotropical migrant, the Summer Tanager travels between its breeding grounds in North America and its wintering areas in Central and South America. Eastern populations may cross the Gulf of Mexico during migration.
03 / Listen a little closer
Its song is a series of melodic, whistled phrases, often compared to a more monotonous version of an American Robin's song. Its call is a distinctive, chuckling note.
04 / The life behind the feathers
Primarily consumes insects, especially bees and wasps, which it often catches in flight. It also eats other insects like beetles, cicadas, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, and will supplement its diet with berries and small fruits, particularly during migration and winter.
Forages high in the forest canopy, moving deliberately through foliage to glean insects. It also sallies out from perches to catch flying insects mid-air. Before eating bees or wasps, it removes the stinger by rubbing the insect on a branch.
The female builds a cup-shaped nest on a horizontal tree branch, typically 1.2 to 13.7 meters (4 to 45 feet) above the ground. Clutches usually contain three to five bluish-green eggs with brown speckles.
Often remains still and hidden within the dense foliage of treetops, making it challenging to spot despite the male's bright coloration. It can be an incessant songster, particularly during the breeding season.
One more reason to pay attention
The Summer Tanager is known as a specialist in eating bees and wasps, earning it the nickname "Bee Bird."
Taxonomists now classify Summer Tanagers within the cardinal family (Cardinalidae), rather than the true tanager family (Thraupidae).
The oldest recorded Summer Tanager lived to be at least 11 years old.
05 / An eye for the difference
Male Northern Cardinals have a prominent crest and a black mask around their red bill, unlike the Summer Tanager.
Male Scarlet Tanagers have brilliant red bodies with contrasting black wings and tail, and a darker bill.
Male Hepatic Tanagers are a duller red with grayish flanks and cheek patches, and typically inhabit higher elevations.
AI-assisted species research. Prepared September 2026. Details can vary across regions and populations.