North America’s most spectacular bird
With their rosy red to orange coloration and distinctive singing, these birds are possibly one of North America’s most beautiful birds.
A medium-sized songbird that is indigenous to North America is the summer tanager (Piranga rubra).
Used to belong to the Tanager tribe (Thraupidae).
Cardinalidae, a family of cardinals, currently includes this bird and some other members of its genus.
This subspecies’ males are 6.7 inches long and bright rose or orange-red throughout the year.
They can be distinguished from the scarlet tanager by their darker coloration.
And the Summer Tanager’s wings are red, not black.
Females have a bottom that is orange-yellow and a top that is more olive. They have almond-colored feathers and a tail, and as they become older, some females develop more masculine coloring.
With the exception of southern Pennsylvania and northern Illinois, these birds can be found in the majority of the southern and eastern United States.
Throughout the winter, they migrate to Mexico and northern South America.
When Summer Tanagers arrive in their breeding region in the spring, they typically build a nest on a horizontal branch 2.5 to 10.5 meters above the ground.
Depending on how he feels, the male may feed the female or tend to his feathers during this time.
After the eggs hatch, he shifts into high gear and helps the mother take care of the chicks’ needs and feed them.
It takes the chicks 8 to 10 weeks to leave the nest. Due to its extremely wide distribution, this species does not meet the IUCN range size criteria for Vulnerability.