Piranga olivacea

Description

Scarlet tanagers earned their name by the coloration of the males. They are a stunning bright red. They have black wings and tail. Females and immatures (and wintering males) are greenish above and yellow below. They have dark brownish or black wings.

Voice

Their note is chip-burr and the song is a 4 or 5 phrase (up and down song) of hurry-worry-flurry-blurry. It sounds like a hoarse robin.

Habitat

You can find scarlet tanagers in forests and shade trees (typically oak trees) and are often high in the tree, there fore they are hard to see.

Diet

They eat insects and fruit.

Range

Scarlet tanagers are in north east and down to the northern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.

Other Useful Information

The female scarlet tanager sings a similar song to that of the male, but it is softer, and less hoarse than the male’s song. She sings it in response to the male calling to her, and while she is making the nest.

Similar Species

Male summer tanager, male cardinal, female summer tanager.