About the Summer Tanager
The summer tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
Adults have stout, pointed bills and measure 17 cm (6.7 in) in length and weigh a mean 30.1 g (1.06 oz), ranging from 25.8–33.6 g (0.99–1.19 oz). Wingspan ranges from 28 to 30 cm. Adult males are rose red and similar in appearance to the hepatic tanager, although the latter has a dark bill; females are orangish on the underparts and olive on top, with olive-brown wings and tail. As with all other birds, all red and orange colorations are acquired through their diet. The summer tanager has an American robin-like song, similar enough that novices sometimes mistake this bird for that species.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Summer Tanager sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Grenada, Martinique, St. Barthélemy, U.S. Virgin Islands.
When to see it
Peak activity in May · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivaceaThe scarlet tanager, a mid-sized passerine, is marginally the smallest of the four species of Piranga that breed north of the Mexican border.
Western TanagerPiranga ludovicianaMeasurements:
Length: 6.3–7.5 in (16–19 cm)
Weight: 0.8–1.3 oz (24–36 g)
Wingspan: 11.5 in (29 cm)
Adults have pale, stout pointed bills, yellow underparts, and light wing bars.
Hepatic TanagerPiranga flavaThe red tanager is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae.
Side by side: Scarlet Tanager vs Summer Tanager · Summer Tanager vs Western Tanager
Learn the Summer Tanager for real
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