- Piranga rubra
Identification
7-8" (18-20 cm)
Male solid rose-red with pale bill. Female pale olive green above, dull yellow below.
Immatures like female, but beware of young males gradually changing their colors and looking quite patchy (old females may look similar!).
Distribution
Breeds southern United States and northern Mexico, winters through Central America and northern half of South America.
Taxonomy
It was placed in the Thraupidae, but is more likely a relative of the cardinals.
Subspecies
Consists of two subspecies1:
- P. r. cooperi
- P. r. rubra
Habitat
Open woodland along streams.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of bees and wasps (and their larva) which they catch in flight. After killing the adults they remove the sting by rubbing them on a branch. When all the adults are dead, they then turn their attention to the nest and destroy it to get at the grubs.
Breeding
They build an open cup nest of dried grasses and other vegetation. The 3-4 pale blue to pale green eggs are marked with dark spots and blotches.
Vocalisation
Recording © by NJLarsen, Carolina Sandhills NWR, South Carolina, USA, 29 April 2023
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Nominate Female
P. r. rubra
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Goose Island State Park, Rockport, Texas, USA,18 April 2021
Immature with 1st alternate plumage
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Goose Island State Park, Rockport, Texas, USA, 18 April 2021
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- All About Birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Summer Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Summer_Tanager
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
