Rex Trulove
When it comes to pretty songbirds, one of the prettier ones is the Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). This is a migratory songbird found primarily in the western US. It breeds in the northwest US and well north into Canada and into Alaska, but spends the winter as far south as Costa Rico and throughout most of Central America. They are commonly seen every year in Montana.
When the males are in breeding colors, they have a lot of yellow on the body and the heads are reddish. The back is mostly black or dark. The females are drabber but are still pretty with sort of an olive coloration.
They build flimsy cup nests that hang from branches, particularly in conifers like pine, and they usually lay 3-5 eggs, which hatch in about two weeks.
Although they are called ‘songbirds’, the call is rather monotone and often consists of only three notes.
This bird used to be considered part of its own family, the tanagers, but it is now considered to belong to the cardinal family.
Western Tanagers feed on insects, seeds, fruit, leaves, and even buds from twigs.
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Question of
Have you ever seen a Western Tanager?
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Yes
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No
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I’m not sure
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Question of
What do you think about the appearance of this bird?
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It is sort of pretty
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It’s beautiful
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It’s okay, I guess
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I certainly must have seen them, but I don’t know that could have identified them. “It’s more like, look at that cool bird.”
LOL That is actually one of the reasons I write posts like this; so that in the future people will be able to say, “Look at that cool western tanager.” 🙂
I have seen the right one but the left one I don’t remember
When the males aren’t in breeding colors, they look very much like the female…the one on the right.
Not in the right part of the country to see these beauties. Would love to though.
I suppose that I should also write about the Eastern Tanager. 😀
I used to be a big bird watcher and am always interested in reading about and seeing pictures of birds. Good information.
I love it when I get to see these. It happens every year, but it isn’t something I can actually plan on in advance.
Lovely songbirds ,Thanks for sharing.
They always seem cheerful, too.