Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea

scarlet tanager © Jim Roetzel

Description: A small (7") bird. In the spring and early summer, the male is scarlet, with black wings and tail. During the late summer and fall, splotchy green is evident within the red as the molt to the yellow-green winter plumage begins. The female is dull greenish above with yellowish below. Wings are dark brownish to blackish. The immature male resembles the adult female, but is brighter below, with brownish primaries that are retained throughout the first summer. Wing coverts are black. Fledglings are olive green above with dark white streaks below. Wings are dark brownish or blackish. Some show faint wing bars. (See enlarged picture below.)

Food: Insects, fruits.

Voice: Note, chip-burr. Song, 4 or 5 short phrases, Robin-like but hoarse.

Nest: A small, loose, flat saucer-shaped nest of twigs, rootlets, coarse grass, and weed stems. Inside lined with finer grasses, weed stems, or pine needles. Eggs sometimes can be seen through the bottom.

Ecology Comments: In migration, this usually solitary tanager sometimes is found in loosely associated groups and may join mixed-species flocks.

Habitat: Breeding: Deciduous forest and mature deciduous woodland, including deciduous and mixed swamp and floodplain forests and rich moist upland forests; prefers oak trees (Bushman and Therres 1988), Nests less frequently in mixed forest (Hamel et al. 1982, Hamel 1992). Most common in areas with a relatively closed canopy, a dense understory with a high diversity of shrubs, and scanty ground cover; able to breed successfully in relatively small patches of forest (Bushman and Therres 1988). Also sometimes nests in wooded parks, orchards, and large shade trees of suburbs (Isler and Isler 1987, Senesac 1993). Breeds in various forest stages but is most abundant in mature woods (according to some sources, prefers pole stands). In New England, nests mainly in sawtimber hardwoods.

Nests are placed in trees, usually well out on limb, commonly in oak, 2-23 m above ground. Typical nest site characteristics: 1) the nest is placed in a leaf cluster, or with at least several leaves shading the nest, 2) the nest is placed on a nearly horizontal tree branch, 3) there is a clear unobstructed view of the ground from the nest, and 4) there are flyways from adjacent trees to the nest (Senesac 1993).

Stewardship Overview: A common forest bird of the northeastern and north-central United States. BBS data indicate a stable population throughout most of the range. Although a lot of information is available about this bird, most of what is known is based on intensive but very localized studies. We need further rangewide information on specific habitat requirements and the effects of habitat alteration (e.g., fragmentation, forest loss, etc.).