Western Tanager

The Western Tanager is a songbird of coniferous and mixed montane forest across western North America, notable for the breeding male's combination of a yellow body, black wings and tail, and a distinctive orange-red wash across the face and crown that sets it apart from other yellow-and-black tanagers. This head coloration is thought to derive partly from pigments obtained through diet, and can vary somewhat in intensity between individuals. Females and non-breeding males lack the orange-red head wash, appearing olive-yellow with grayish wings marked by two pale wing bars.

Breeding male feathers show a bright yellow body with solid black wings, back, and tail, and a notable orange-red wash covering the face and crown that fades gradually into the yellow of the nape, a pattern not shared by Scarlet or Summer Tanager. Two pale wing bars, one yellowish and one whitish, are visible on the black wings, a useful feature distinguishing this species from Scarlet Tanager, which lacks wing bars. Females and non-breeding males show olive-yellow body plumage with grayish-black wings and the same two pale wing bars, but without any orange-red head coloring.

Breeding males show the full yellow-black-orange pattern, with the orange-red head wash typically most vivid in fresh spring plumage and possibly fading somewhat by late summer. After breeding, males molt into a duller non-breeding plumage more similar to females, losing much of the orange-red head color, though black wings and wing bars are typically retained. Females maintain a consistent olive-yellow-and-gray pattern with wing bars year-round. Immatures resemble females.

Western Tanagers breed in coniferous and mixed montane forest across the western United States and Canada, ranging up into subalpine forest at higher elevations. The species is migratory, wintering from Mexico south into Central America, and can be found in a variety of wooded habitats during migration.

This species forages in the forest canopy for insects and fruit, sometimes catching flying insects on the wing. The song is a hoarse, robin-like series of phrases similar to Scarlet Tanager's, and a distinctive dry, rising 'pit-er-ick' call helps confirm identification. Nests are cup-shaped, built on a horizontal branch, often well out from the trunk in a conifer. Western Tanagers can form loose flocks during migration, sometimes stopping in unexpected lowland or urban habitats while moving between breeding and wintering grounds.