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Henry Sowell

Vol. I · Est. 2026

Pl. CIX
Field-journal plate: Scarlet Tanager
The Scarlet Tanager plate as rendered on the e-ink frame
As rendered on the frame

The Birds · Plate CIX

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

Cardinalidae · Taxon 9921

Length16–17 cm
Wingspan25–29 cm
Weight23.5–38 g

Field marks

  1. Medium-sized, compact songbird with a fairly long, straight-to-slightly pointed bill
  2. Breeding male has a vivid scarlet-red head and body
  3. Breeding male shows sharply contrasting jet-black wings and tail
  4. Female, immature, and nonbreeding male are yellowish to olive-green with dark wings and tail
  5. Dark, rounded eye; slender dark legs and feet
  6. Long, dark tail extends well beyond the folded wings

HabitatPrimarily mature deciduous and mixed forests; also uses forest edges, younger woodland, and evergreen forest during the nonbreeding season.

BehaviorForages deliberately in foliage, often high in the canopy; eats insects and wild fruits, and gives a distinctive chick-burr call.

Palette

scarlet redjet blackolive greenstraw yellowpale horn gray