western tanager

I don't see these lovely little guys on this side of the mountains too often - amazingly this one was in a busy city park - and I think I was the only one who was looking!

comments (5)

Thibaud Aronson

Lion

Beautiful shot! Posted 3 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Amazing! Posted 3 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  Beautiful little birdie, isn't he - probably one of the most colorful that is found locally. I just read today on the Cornell website that they do not produce the red pigment in their head feathers themselves - apparently it comes from bugs that are in their diet. I guess if you are a male tanager, a nice bright red head indicates that you are a well fed bird? Posted 3 years ago, modified 3 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    That's interesting and seems a very effective natural selector. I know of at least two more birds where diet affects color, the obvious one is the flamingo, the other some species of tits:
    https://www.jungledragon.com/wildlife/browse/animalia/chordata/aves/passeriformes/paridae
    
    The more yellow the belly, the more caterpillars they ate. When light yellow, it probably mostly ate bird food that people put out in winter. Posted 3 years ago, modified 3 years ago

Christine Young

Lion

Today's Facebook post:

The western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) ranges farther north than any other tanager, breeding into Canada’s Northwest Territories. They nest in coniferous forests and eat mostly insects, in addition to some fruits and berries.

Most birds with red feathers owe their redness to pigments called carotenoids. But, western tanagers are unique in that they get their scarlet head feathers from a rare pigment called rhodoxanthin, which they probably obtain from the insects in their diet. {Photo credit: morpheme, Washington, USA} #JungleDragon #jungledragonwildlife #tanager #westerntanager #piranga #pirangaludoviciana

https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife
Instagram: @jungledragonwildlife Posted 3 years ago

The Western tanager

The western tanager, is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family, it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family. The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.

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Similar species: Perching Birds

Species identified by morpheme