Summer Tanager
Piranga rubra
Tanager family (Thraupidae)
A medium-sized tanager. Male is uniformly bright red. Female is yellowish below, brownish-yellow above, not as green as Scarlet Tanager female.
Habitat:
Dry open forests
Nesting:
Shallow saucer-shaped nest built on a horizontal limb. Eggs are pale blue to pale green, variously marked with brown spots. Clutch size – 3 to 4 eggs.
Voice:
Song is a series of whistled phrases, like the American Robin’s, but phrases are on one pitch with the same phrase repeated over and over. Call is a distinct “chik-e-tuk chik-e-tuk”, descending in pitch during the call. Their call is heard more often than their song.
Name Origin:
The genus name Piranga is a native name for a South American bird. The species name rubra is from the Latin for “red.” The common name Tanager is from tanagara, for “a bird” in Tupi, a South American language.
In the Nature Park:
Neotropical migrant. Occurs in more open forests than the Scarlet Tanager.
Photos:
Summer Tanager female (left) and male (right)
