Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

SCTA

Order: Passeriformes | Family: Cardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)
Scarlet Tanager 1

Bird Description

Common woodland bird in all types of deciduous forest. Sometimes difficult to find, breeding ♂ is an unforgetable red. Behaves much as SUTA. In characteristic strongly undulating flight, tanagers look pot-bellied, compact, and broad-winged. Song: a series of 5 harsh burry notes changing slightly in pitch. Call a ‘chip-bree.’ Flight call a soft ‘phew.’ ID: A compact tanager, with rounded head and undercarriage. Lacks bulk of SUTA and is smaller-billed. Ad ♂ br: deep red with black wings and tail. Ad ♂ nonbr: molts on breeding grounds into ♀-like green plumage but with black wings. Ad ♀: yellow-green below, uniform olive green above with darker wings (not black). 1st-w ♂: like ad ♀ but with a few replaced black ad ♂ coverts. 1st-s ♂: usually red with some green and old coverts. 1st-w ♀: like ad but averages paler, and often shows narrow wing bars.

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