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Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)

Steve Maslowski, USFWS

Length: 6-7 in.
Habitat: thick woodlands; suburbs, parks

The Scarlet Tanager is the same size as the Scarlet Tanager. Males are scarlet with black wings and tail (in fall, red is replaced by yellowish green). Females are yellowish green, with darker wings and tail. They inhabit thick woodlands, suburbs and parks. Scarlet Tanagers are a common and conspicuous breeding species in the oak woods. They generally nest in oaks near an opening in the tree canopy. They are frequently victimized by cowbirds.

Scarlet Tanagers devour many destructive caterpillars and wood-boring beetles, most often but not exclusively in oaks. Young males may be principally orange or splotched with red and yellow.

The Scarlet Tanager's song is not hard to pick out: listen to a robin sing for a while, then listen for the same song with a burr in it. The species also has a distinctive, hoarse call—chick-kurr in the East, sometimes chip-chiree elsewhere.