Summer Tanager -- South Dakota Birds

Length: 7.75 inches Wingspan: 12 inches Seasonality: Uncommon visitor
ID Keys:  Rosy red overall (male), females bright yellow body with darker wings.

Summer Tanager - Piranga rubra

Summer Tanager

Piranga rubra

The Summer Tanager is primarily a summer bird of the southern and eastern United States, but occasionally visits the state.  They are the most widespread and common of the Tanagers found in the United States.  Summer Tanagers often feed on bees and wasps, raiding bee hives and wasp nests, seemingly oblivious to the stinging insects.

Habitat: Open forests and woodlands.

Diet: Mostly insects, also fruits and berries. 

Breeding: Non-breeder in South Dakota

Song: Summer Tanager Song, also Summer Tanager Call

Migrations: Summers in the southern and eastern United States.  Winters in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Similar Species: Scarlet Tanager

Status: Summer Tanagers have shown sharp declines in parts of its range over the last few decades.

Summer Tanager - South Dakota Range MapFurther Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Summer Tanager

2) Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Summer Tanager

3) E-nature.com: Summer Tanager.

Photo Information: Photo courtesy of Norman Smith, 2004.

 

 

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This page was last edited on 02/03/08