Summer Tanager vs Western Tanager

Summer Tanager

Piranga rubra

How to recognise a summer tanager?

General appearance

The summer tanager is around 7-8 inches or 18-20 centimeters, similar to a robin or sparrow. Its body is colorful with black, green, red, and yellow hues. Its wings are rounded, and the tail showcases notched, rounded, or square-tipped characteristics. Furthermore, the summer tanager is notable for its large light-colored bill and non-patterned wings.

Male vs female

A prominent distinction exists between male and female summer tanagers. Adult males possess an exquisite rosy red color that remains consistent throughout the year, while females have a rich yellow coloration, which is less greenish compared to the female Scarlet tanager. The other distinctive trait of females is the paler and proportionately bigger bill.

Juvenile

Young males, or juvenile summer tanagers, exhibit a slightly different appearance than adults. They may appear patchy yellow and red rather than a uniform rosy red. These color variations can serve as a visual cue to differentiate between adults and juveniles in the wild.

Size

6.3 - 7.1 in/1.0 - 1.1 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

Summer tanagers breed in dry open woods, especially those of oak, hickory, or pine in the Southeast, and in cottonwood-willow forests along streams in the Southwest.

Additional range

They winter in the tropics, mainly in lowlands but also up to middle elevations in mountains, both in solid forest and in edges and clearings with scattered trees.

Range Map

What do summer tanagers like to eat?

Natural diet

The summer tanager primarily feeds on insects during the summer. Its diet includes bees, wasps, beetles, cicadas, caterpillars, grasshoppers, bugs, flies, and a variety of other insects. It complements its insect diet by eating some spiders. Additionally, the summer tanager consumes berries and small fruits occasionally.

Bird feeders

While the summer tanager's natural diet consists mainly of insects and some fruits, it may occasionally visit bird feeders that offer fruits or insect-based foods. However, its visits to common seed feeders are rare, as its diet is not based on seeds.

What does a summer tanager sound like?

The Summer Tanager’s vocalizations are melodious and complex. Its song is reminiscent of an American Robin's, but comes across as softer and sweeter. Its call possesses a distinctive rattling noise represented as "chick-tucky-tuck". The call pattern is dynamic, encompassing falling, rising, and undulating tones. It typically communicates through chirping or chipping sounds as well as whistles.

Call

Audio by Niels Krabbe

/ CC BY-SA 4.0

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Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

How to recognise a western tanager?

General appearance

The Western Tanager is a medium-sized bird, roughly the size of a Robin or Sparrow, measuring 6-7.5 inches (15-19 cm). Typically, the bird features a notched, rounded, or square-tipped tail. Its wings are pointed in shape and its bill is thicker than that of female orioles, making it strong and distinctive.

Male vs female

There exists a noticeable difference in physical traits between males and females. Male Western Tanagers boast brilliant colors, with a primarily yellow body, a black back and wings, and a unique red face. On the other hand, females are less vibrant. They display a duller yellow body with a grayish tone on their back and wings, but they do show two wing bars just like the males.

Juvenile

Juvenile Western Tanagers, similar to adult females, sport a dull yellow color. Their wings and back take on a gray shade, giving them a more subdued appearance than the brightly colored adult males. As they mature, their colors adjust to match their respective gender distinctions.

Size

6.5 - 7.5 in/0.8 - 1.3 oz

Habitat

Primary habitat

The western tanager mainly inhabits open conifer or mixed forests. It breeds in high mountains or the North, in forests of spruce, fir, pine, aspen, and occasionally in lower elevation oak woods.

Additional range

During migration, it can be found in various habitats even deserts. It winters typically in tropical pine-oak woods, forest edges, or in California's eucalyptus groves.

Range Map

What do western tanagers like to eat?

Natural diet

The western tanager primarily consumes insects, which include wasps, bees, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, termites, and cicadas. In addition to insects, this bird's diet is supplemented with various berries such as mulberries and elderberries. Occasionally, it also consumes some cultivated fruits found in its habitat.

Bird feeders

Western tanagers may visit bird feeders, particularly those offering fruits and berries similar to those found in their natural diet, such as raisins or other dried fruits.

What does a western tanager sound like?

The Western Tanager's song can be likened to a robin's, marked by short, flute-like phrases relayed with a distinctive pause in-between. However, its voice quality is noticeably hoarser. The call of this bird is recognised as a dry 'pit-r-ick' sound. The call pattern of the Western Tanager is undulating, and they typically tweet using chirp or chip sounds and whistles.

Call

Audio by Francis C, Ortega C, Cruz A

/ CC BY-SA 2.5

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Summer Tanager

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Western Tanager

Summer Tanager

Piranga rubra

General appearance

The summer tanager is around 7-8 inches or 18-20 centimeters, similar to a robin or sparrow. Its body is colorful with black, green, red, and yellow hues. Its wings are rounded, and the tail showcases notched, rounded, or square-tipped characteristics. Furthermore, the summer tanager is notable for its large light-colored bill and non-patterned wings.

Male vs female

A prominent distinction exists between male and female summer tanagers. Adult males possess an exquisite rosy red color that remains consistent throughout the year, while females have a rich yellow coloration, which is less greenish compared to the female Scarlet tanager. The other distinctive trait of females is the paler and proportionately bigger bill.

Juvenile

Young males, or juvenile summer tanagers, exhibit a slightly different appearance than adults. They may appear patchy yellow and red rather than a uniform rosy red. These color variations can serve as a visual cue to differentiate between adults and juveniles in the wild.

Size

6.3 - 7.1 in/1.0 - 1.1 oz

There's more to learn about Summer Tanager

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Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

General appearance

The Western Tanager is a medium-sized bird, roughly the size of a Robin or Sparrow, measuring 6-7.5 inches (15-19 cm). Typically, the bird features a notched, rounded, or square-tipped tail. Its wings are pointed in shape and its bill is thicker than that of female orioles, making it strong and distinctive.

Male vs female

There exists a noticeable difference in physical traits between males and females. Male Western Tanagers boast brilliant colors, with a primarily yellow body, a black back and wings, and a unique red face. On the other hand, females are less vibrant. They display a duller yellow body with a grayish tone on their back and wings, but they do show two wing bars just like the males.

Juvenile

Juvenile Western Tanagers, similar to adult females, sport a dull yellow color. Their wings and back take on a gray shade, giving them a more subdued appearance than the brightly colored adult males. As they mature, their colors adjust to match their respective gender distinctions.

Size

6.5 - 7.5 in/0.8 - 1.3 oz

There's more to learn about Western Tanager

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How to tell the Summer Tanager from the Western Tanager

Visual differences

The Summer Tanager is larger, 7-8 inches long, while the Western Tanager measures 6-7.5 inches. Males differ in color: Summer Tanagers are uniformly rosy red, whereas Western Tanagers are yellow with a black back, wings, and a red face. Females of both species are yellow, but Western Tanager females display a grayish tint with distinctive wing bars, unlike the plain wings of Summer Tanager females. Both have large bills, but the Summer Tanager's is notably pale. The Western Tanager's wings are pointed, whereas the Summer Tanager's are rounded.

Key differences and behavior

Summer Tanagers and Western Tanagers display distinct behavioral and habitat preferences. Summer Tanagers primarily breed in dry open woods and cottonwood-willow forests, while Western Tanagers favor mixed and coniferous forests in mountainous regions. While both species engage in singing for courtship and territory defense, Summer Tanagers exhibit unique behavior by catching and killing bees and wasps in flight. In terms of nesting, Summer Tanagers build cup-shaped nests lower at 10-30 feet, while Western Tanagers’ nests are placed higher, generally 15-65 feet up in coniferous trees. Diets overlap with both tanagers consuming insects and berries, but Summer Tanagers specialize in flying insects like bees and wasps; Western Tanagers complement their diet with more cultivated fruits. Neither species frequents seed feeders, reflecting their insect-oriented diets.