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Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)

Gerald and Buff Corsi © California Academy of Sciences.

Length: 6-7 in.
Habitat: open mixed and coniferous woodlands; other forests (migration)

The male Western Tanager is bright yellow, with red head and black on upper back, wings, and tail (no red on nonbreeder); female is greenish above and yellowish below (only female tanager with wingbars). Tanagers are mainly insect eaters, though they do take some buds and fruits.

The song of the Western Tanager is much the same as that of the Scarlet Tanager—a series of short phrases separated by pauses. Its call is two- or three-syllabled—pit-ic, pit-it-ic. On migration, flocks of Western Tanagers pass through valleys, plains, and foothills. They nest mostly in the mountains, in firs and pines, often at high elevations. Like other tanagers, they lay three to five eggs. The female alone incubates, but both parents share the care and feeding of the nestlings.

Animal Calendars