Banner Photo by Ann Kramer

Featured Bird

MEET THE WESTERN TANAGER (Piranga ludoviciana)- by Jeff Sinker

Found throughout the West in open woods featuring conifers and mixed-deciduous trees, Western Tanagers spend much of their time hidden in the canopy foraging for insects and fruit.  They can be attracted to bird feeders offering fresh and dried fruits as well as suet.  Water features including bird baths, fountains, and streams are another way to entice these beautiful birds to visit. 

The scarlet head feathers on the male come from a rare pigment called “rhodoxanthin” but since the birds are unable to manufacture this pigment themselves, scientists believe it is acquired through the insects they eat.  Speaking of insects, Western Tanagers eat a wide variety, including dragonflies; but before swallowing the dragonfly the bird will remove the wings.

Western Tanagers breed farther north, all the way into Canada’s NW Territories, than any other tanager, from sea-level up to about 10,000 ft.  Preferring an open canopy, females select a nest site in habitats offering Douglas Fir, aspen, pine, oak, plus riparian wetlands in addition to parks and gardens. The female does all nest building, her mate remains close by, utilizing twigs, roots, grasses, feathers, animal hair, and similar materials.  A successful pair raises one brood of 3-5 nestlings who fledge after 11-15 days in the nest.  Insects dominate their diet during breeding season, but back on their wintering grounds, fruit may become the biggest part of their diet.

Western Tanagers are closely associated with Douglas Fir forests, so forest management practices are important, although they are less affected by management strategies that result in forest fragmentation.  Learn more:  www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Tanager.   Photo:  Western Tanager by Joe Halton