You’re walking in the park when you see a stunning flash of red in the tree canopy above you. You don’t get a good look, so you write it off as another cardinal. But something about it just didn’t seem right to you. Suddenly, you see the flash of red again up ahead, but this time the bird lights on a branch, sidles down, and grabs a large insect before it viciously begins to thrash it into submission. You look through your binoculars and this time get a good enough look to be certain it’s no cardinal, but what could it be?
Male Summer Tanager. Photos by Eli Haislip.
The Summer tanager is an eye-catching bird to say the least. These neotropical migrants call our deciduous and pine-oak forests home for the spring and summer months. During fall migration, they leave their summer breeding grounds behind and will travel as far south as the rain forests of Bolivia. When they aren’t traveling between hemispheres, they can usually be found in the tops of trees where they are more easily heard than seen. Listen for their robin like song, or their unique “pi-tuh-took” call. Once you are able to recognize these by ear, you will be amazed by just how common these beautiful birds are. To hear this birds call check out the Summer Tanager profile on allaboutbirds.org
Juvenile male
Female
During early spring, the males sing and aggressively chase one another in order to establish territories. Males will take only one mate per season. After the birds pair off, females will weave crude bowls out of dried grasses and other vegetation. Females incubate eggs while the males will busy themselves with important activities such as preening, foraging and getting a little rest. After an incubation period of 11-12 days, both parents will help to raise the young. After a period of as short as 8-12 days, it is time for the fledglings to leave the nest, despite being barely able to fly. During this period, they usually will hide themselves in dense vegetation, only calling on occasion to their parents who will continue to feed them for around 3 weeks.
While visits to feeders are rare, they are not entirely unheard of. They are known to visit suet feeders, and they might not rule out a plump mealworm if the opportunity presented itself. However, they are more likely to spend their time in the treetops where they specialize in eating wasps, bees, as well as other insects, and fruit or berries. Great places to see these birds include Edwin Warner and Bowie Nature Park in Fairview.