Beak of the Week – Scarlet Tanager

With their dazzlingly bright plumage, Scarlet Tanagers are distinctive summertime residents of eastern deciduous forests. During the breeding season, adult males have brilliant red bodies and black wings and tails. Females are yellow, with darker olive wings and tails. Immature males and adult males in non-breeding plumage are similar to females, but have black wings and tails. Females and immatures are similar in appearance to female and immature Summer Tanagers; Scarlet Tanagers have shorter bills and darker, more contrasting wings than Summer Tanagers. They can also be distinguished by their calls: Scarlet Tanagers give a “chip-churr” call, while Summer Tanagers give a “pit-i-tuck” call.

Scarlet Tanagers breed in deciduous forests across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. They are highly territorial during the breeding season, and males fiercely defend their territories. They can be rather elusive as they travel through the canopy searching for insects, but can be located by their song, a series of short phrases similar to the song of an American Robin but distinctly hoarser. They are long-distance migrants, and overwinter in forests and forest edges of northwestern South America.

During the breeding season, Scarlet Tanagers favor large tracts of mature forest, making them vulnerable to habitat fragmentation as forest is cleared and forest patches become smaller. During migration, they can be found in Houston Audubon’s High Island Sanctuaries, including Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary and Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary, as well as Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary in west Houston.