Western Tanager

The Western Tanager is a brightly colored songbird of coniferous and mixed forests across the mountainous American West. Adult males combine a bright yellow body with black wings, back, and tail, set off by a strikingly orange-red head, a color unusual among North American birds because it is produced from a rare pigment, rhodoxanthin, likely obtained from insect prey rather than synthesized by the bird itself. Females and immature birds are more subdued, olive-yellow overall with dark gray-olive wings showing two pale wingbars.

Western Tanagers breed farther north than any other tanager species in North America, reaching well into the boreal forests of northwestern Canada and even into southern Alaska, an unusually high latitude for this largely tropical bird family.

Key Field Marks

• Adult male: bright yellow body, black wings, back, and tail, orange-red head
• Female/immature: olive-yellow overall, gray-olive wings with two pale (whitish to yellowish) wingbars
• Stout, pale bill
• Non-breeding male loses much of the red head color, becoming mostly yellow with a hint of orange

Similar Species

• Scarlet Tanager male lacks the orange-red head and yellow body, being entirely scarlet with black wings.
• American Goldfinch male is smaller with an all-black cap (not a full orange-red head) and a much smaller bill.
• Female Western Tanagers can resemble female orioles but are stockier with a heavier bill and prominent wingbars.

Habitat

Breeds in coniferous and mixed montane forests, including pine, fir, and aspen woodlands, typically at moderate to high elevations in the mountainous West.

Range

Breeds from Alaska and western Canada south through the western United States to northern Mexico, reaching farther north than any other North American tanager. Winters mainly in Mexico and Central America.

Migration

A long-distance migrant; birds pass through lowland and desert areas during migration, often stopping at feeders and fruiting trees far from their forest breeding habitat.

Behavior

Western Tanagers forage in the forest canopy, gleaning insects from foliage and sallying out to catch flying prey; during migration they can turn up in a wide variety of habitats, including backyards, well outside their breeding range.

Voice

The song is a burry, robin-like series of phrases similar to the Scarlet Tanager's; the distinctive call is a dry, rising "pit-er-ick."

Feeding

Feeds on insects such as wasps, beetles, and caterpillars, along with fruit, and will visit backyard feeders offering fruit, suet, or sugar water during migration.

Nesting & Breeding

The female builds a loose cup nest of twigs and grass, typically placed on a horizontal conifer branch away from the trunk. She incubates 3-5 eggs alone.