Summer Tanager

Quick Facts

Migratory
  • Scientific Name: Piranga rubra
  • Spanish Name: Tangara veranera
  • Family: Cardinalidae
  • Known Nicknames: Summer Redbird
  • Average Length: 17–19 cm / 6.7–7.5 in
  • Average Weight: 27–40 g / 0.95–1.4 oz
  • Wingspan: 28–30 cm / 11–12 in
  • Key Feature: Adult male entirely rose-red plumage; female and immature dull olive-yellow
  • Primary Diet: Primarily Insectivore (especially bees and wasps); also Frugivore
  • Range: Southern United States to northern South America (winters from Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil)
  • Habitat: Open woodlands, riparian corridors, and forest edges
  • Social Structure: Largely Solitary or in pairs during breeding; loosely social during migration
  • Nesting/Breeding: Cup-shaped nest on horizontal branch of a tree
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Summer Tanager (*Piranga rubra*) is a striking songbird that stands out as North America’s only entirely red bird, with males flaunting a brilliant, rose-red plumage, while females and immatures wear a warm, golden-yellow hue. A master of the treetops, this tanager is a specialized hunter of bees and wasps, skillfully catching them mid-flight or raiding nests, then rubbing the insect against a branch to remove the stinger before consumption. Its thick, pale bill and relatively long tail set it apart from the similar Scarlet Tanager, and its melodious, robin-like song often reveals its presence in open woodlands and riparian forests across the southern and eastern United States during summer. This bird’s unique dietary habits and vivid coloration make it a prized sight for birdwatchers, embodying the fiery energy of its namesake season.

Fun Facts

The male Summer Tanager is North America’s only entirely red bird, a vivid distinction that makes it look like a living ember. It has a peculiar diet: it’s a master at catching bees and wasps in midair, then rubbing the stinger off on a branch before swallowing the insect whole. This bird also has a knack for “anting,” a quirky behavior where it picks up ants and rubs them through its feathers, using the formic acid as a natural insecticide to deter parasites. During migration, it can fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico, a grueling 600-mile journey fueled by fat reserves.

Habitats & Distribution

The Summer Tanager inhabits open woodlands, particularly those dominated by oaks, as well as riparian corridors, forest edges, and mixed pine-oak forests. It is also found in suburban parks and gardens with mature trees, favoring environments with a mix of canopy cover and open understory. Its breeding range spans the southeastern and south-central United States, from southern New Jersey and the Ohio River Valley west to eastern Kansas and Texas, extending south through Mexico and Central America. During the non-breeding season, it migrates primarily to lowland tropical forests and scrublands from central Mexico through Central America and into northern South America, reaching as far as western Ecuador and northern Brazil.

Behaviours & Reproduction

The Summer Tanager is generally solitary or found in loose pairs during the breeding season, with males arriving on breeding grounds first to establish territories through song and occasional chases. Courtship involves the male following the female, performing short flights with quivering wings, and offering food items as a prelude to mating. The pair forms a monogamous bond for the season, but extra-pair copulations have been observed. The female builds a shallow, flimsy cup nest of grass and twigs on a horizontal tree branch, often in oaks, and incubates the clutch of 3 to 4 eggs alone for about 11 to 12 days. Both parents feed the nestlings, which fledge after 9 to 12 days, but the male may take over most feeding duties if the female begins a second brood. A unique reproductive strategy is the tanager’s frequent use of abandoned nests from other birds, such as vireos, as a foundation, reducing construction effort. After fledging, the family group may stay together for several weeks before dispersing.

Diet

The Summer Tanager is primarily an insectivore, with a diet heavily dominated by bees and wasps, including their larvae and pupae, which it often catches by plucking them directly from nests or snatching them in mid-air; it is even known to rub bees against a branch to remove their stingers before consumption. Beyond hymenoptera, it also consumes a wide variety of other flying insects like beetles, cicadas, dragonflies, and grasshoppers, and will occasionally supplement its diet with spiders and fruits such as berries and mulberries during migration or in wintering grounds. A particularly interesting fact is that its specialized foraging technique includes "hawking" from a perch, where it sallies out to catch insects in flight, and it has been observed hovering to pick prey from foliage, demonstrating remarkable agility for a bird of its size.

Colors

The male Summer Tanager is a striking, entirely rosy-red bird with no contrasting wing bars or markings, while the female is a uniform olive-yellow above and paler yellow below, lacking bold streaks. Juveniles resemble females but may show patchy red or orange feathers. Its solid, unpatterned coloration serves as camouflage among sunlit foliage and flowers, blending into the dappled light of the forest canopy.