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Henry Sowell

Vol. I · Est. 2026

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

The Birds · Plate LXVI

Summer Tanager

Piranga rubra

Cardinalidae · Taxon 9915

Length6.7–7.5 in (17–19 cm)
Wingspan11–12 in (28–30 cm)
Weight0.8–1.1 oz (23–31 g)

Field marks

  1. Chunky, medium-sized songbird with a large head and thick, blunt-tipped bill.
  2. Adult male is uniformly bright rosy red, including wings and tail.
  3. Female and immature male are yellow to yellow-green, often yellower below and greener on back and wings.
  4. Bill is conspicuously pale or horn-colored; eye is dark.
  5. Wings are plain and rounded, without bold wingbars.
  6. Tail is medium-long and broad, typically rounded to square-tipped.

HabitatOpen deciduous and mixed woodlands, forest gaps and edges, and wooded streamside groves; also uses open and second-growth wooded habitats.

BehaviorUsually forages high in the canopy, sitting quietly before making short aerial sallies for insects or gleaning along branches.

Palette

bright rosy redyellow-greenrich yellowpale horndark gray-brown