{"id":246976,"date":"2026-02-06T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fauna\/summer-tanager-female\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T12:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:08:54","slug":"summer-tanager-female","status":"publish","type":"fauna","link":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/faune-2\/summer-tanager-female\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Tanager (female)"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Piranga rubra<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":246683,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":""},"collection":[],"country":[11],"fauna-group":[27487],"fauna-type":[27217],"class_list":["post-246976","fauna","type-fauna","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-colombia","fauna-group-tanagers","fauna-type-birds"],"acf":{"scientific_name":"Piranga rubra","animal_description":"The female Summer Tanager (*Piranga rubra*) offers a subtle, elegant contrast to the brilliant crimson of her male counterpart, sporting a warm palette of mustard-yellow and olive-green plumage that provides excellent camouflage within the leafy canopies of open woodlands. While her appearance is understated, she is a formidable predator with a highly specialized and daring diet: she is a master bee and wasp hunter. This medium-sized songbird skillfully snatches stinging insects mid-air and carries them to a perch, where she expertly rubs them against a branch to remove the venomous stinger and wings before consumption. Often identified by her distinctive, clicking \"pit-ti-tuck\" call, the female Summer Tanager is a fascinating example of specialized evolution, blending quiet beauty with a bold, tactical approach to survival.","animal_habitat":"During the breeding season, this species inhabits open deciduous forests and mixed woodlands across the southern United States and northern Mexico. In the eastern portion of its range, it favors forests dominated by oak and hickory, while in the arid Southwest, it is primarily restricted to riparian areas featuring cottonwood and willow trees. It generally prefers the mid-to-upper levels of the forest canopy, where it finds ample cover and food.\n\nIn the winter months, it migrates to Central America and northern South America, ranging as far south as Bolivia and central Brazil. In these tropical regions, it occupies diverse environments such as forest edges, open woodlands, and secondary growth forests. It is also frequently observed in human-modified landscapes, including parks, gardens, and shade-grown coffee plantations.","animal_behavior_and_reproduction":"During the breeding season, these birds form monogamous pairs and maintain individual territories through song and physical displays. The female is the primary architect of the nest, weaving a thin, cup-shaped structure out of grasses, weeds, and bark, usually situated on a high, horizontal branch far from the tree trunk. She alone incubates the clutch of three to four eggs for nearly two weeks, while the male supports her by delivering food directly to the nest. Once the chicks hatch, both parents work together to provide nourishment, demonstrating a cooperative approach to raising their brood.\n\nA highly specialized behavioral trait is their method of foraging, particularly their preference for bees and wasps. They capture these insects in mid-air and skillfully remove the stingers by rubbing the prey against a branch before consumption. This unique strategy allows them to provide high-protein meals to their young while avoiding the risks associated with venomous prey. Outside of the nesting period, they are generally solitary, focusing on maintaining their foraging efficiency throughout their migratory range.","diet":"The female Summer Tanager is a specialized insectivore with a particular affinity for bees and wasps, a dietary preference that has earned the species the nickname \"bee bird.\" To safely consume these stinging insects, she employs a sophisticated hunting technique where she captures prey in flight or plucks it from a nest and then carries it to a perch to vigorously rub the insect against a branch, effectively removing the stinger and neutralizing the venom sac before ingestion. Beyond adult insects, she is known to raid wasp nests to feast on the protein-rich larvae contained within the comb. While hymenopterans make up the bulk of her summer intake, she also consumes spiders, beetles, and cicadas, and she significantly supplements her diet with various small fruits and berries\u2014such as mulberries and blackberries\u2014during the late breeding season and while on her wintering grounds in Central and South America.","colors":"The female Summer Tanager features a uniform mustard-yellow to olive-green plumage, lacking distinct wing bars or dark markings. Her underparts are a brighter saffron yellow, while her back and wings are a duller olive, providing excellent camouflage against sun-dappled foliage. She is further distinguished by a large, pale, stout bill, and older individuals may occasionally display subtle orange-red washes.","fun_facts":"These birds are elite \"bee and wasp specialists,\" capable of snatching stinging insects in mid-flight and bashing them against branches to remove the stingers before swallowing. They are known to raid entire wasp nests, devouring the larvae while ignoring the frantic adults. While their olive-yellow plumage provides master-level camouflage, some older females develop striking orange or red patches that make them look like they are caught in a permanent sunset. Additionally, they are remarkably territorial and possess a strong sense of site fidelity, often returning to the exact same tree to nest year after year.","conservation_status_&_efforts":"Currently classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, this bird maintains a large and generally stable global population, though some regional declines occur due to habitat fragmentation. The primary threats include the loss of mature deciduous and riparian woodlands, which are essential for breeding, and the widespread use of pesticides that diminishes the availability of bees and wasps, its primary food source. Additionally, window strikes and light pollution pose significant risks during its long-distance migrations between North and South America.\n\nConservation measures primarily center on the preservation of critical riparian corridors and the promotion of bird-friendly agricultural practices that limit chemical dependency. Legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act help safeguard populations across international borders. Furthermore, habitat restoration projects in both breeding and wintering ranges aim to maintain the structural integrity of the forests these birds rely on, while urban initiatives focus on reducing migratory hazards through \"lights out\" programs and bird-safe glass installations.","endemic":false,"conservation_status":"Least Concern","ebird_link":{"url":"https:\/\/ebird.org\/species\/sumtan","title":"View on Ebird","target":"_blank"},"animal_related_page":{"url":"https:\/\/animalia.bio\/summer-tanager","title":"View on Animalia","target":"_blank"},"fauna_family":"Cardinalidae","fauna_known_nicknames":"Bee Bird","fauna_average_length":"15\u201318 cm \/ 5.9\u20137.1 in","fauna_average_weight":"24\u201333 g \/ 0.8\u20131.2 oz","fauna_wingspan":"28\u201330 cm \/ 11.0\u201311.8 in","fauna_key_physical_feature":"Mustard-yellow to olive-green plumage with a stout, pale-colored bill","fauna_primary_diet":"Insectivore (primarily bees and wasps) and Frugivore","fauna_geographical_range":"Breeds in Southern USA and Northern Mexico; winters in Central America and Northern South America","fauna_preferred_habitat":"Open deciduous forests, pine-oak woodlands, and riparian corridors","fauna_social_structure":"Solitary or in pairs","fauna_breeding_site":"Shallow cup nest built on a horizontal tree branch","fauna_conservation_status":"Least Concern (LC)","fauna_population_trend":"Stable","fauna_spanish_name":"Piranga roja","fauna_french_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna\/246976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fauna"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=246976"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=246976"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-group?post=246976"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-type?post=246976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}