Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Ebird describes the Western Tanager like this:  Breeding males are stunning bright yellow with a black back and red head. Females and immature males are duller, sometimes mostly grayish with just faint yellow on the face and undertail coverts. Always note two white wingbars and pale bill. Breeds mainly in coniferous or mixed forests at middle or high elevations. Winters as far south as Central America, where it can be found in any forested habitat. Often stays high in the canopy. Listen for male’s burry song in the spring and summer and short, rising rattle year-round.  All About Birds adds this descriptive information about the Western Tanager:  A clear look at a male Western Tanager is like looking at a flame: an orange-red head, brilliant yellow body, and coal-black wings, back and tail. Females and immatures are a somewhat dimmer yellow-green and blackish. These birds live in open woods all over the West, particularly among evergreens, where they often stay hidden in the canopy. Nevertheless, they’re a quintessential woodland denizen in summertime, where they fill the woods with their short, burry song and low, chuckling call notes.

I saw and photographed several Western Tanagers on the late afternoon of May 26, 2021, at the bird blinds in the Davis Mountains State Park.  What a beautiful bird!  To see my blog about the trip that included this stop at Davis Mountains State Park, look here.