Birds
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea · also called scarlet tanagers
High in the closed canopy of a mature eastern forest, a hoarse, burry song drifts down, but the brilliant scarlet male responsible is nearly invisible against the leaves, a striking contrast to how conspicuous that same red plumage would make him against bare branches earlier in spring.
Overview
The scarlet tanager, Piranga olivacea, is a strikingly colourful songbird native to mature deciduous forest across a broad range of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its brilliant seasonal colour transformation, dependence on large unbroken forest interior, and long-distance migration to South America make it one of the more visually dramatic and habitat-sensitive songbirds in eastern North America.
A colour too bold to keep all year
The same vivid scarlet plumage that makes a breeding male so visually striking each spring would offer no advantage, and considerable risk, once breeding season ends, so the species simply sheds it for a plainer, safer colour the rest of the year.
Status
Least Concern, though showing a decreasing trend linked to forest fragmentation on the breeding grounds and habitat loss on its South American wintering range.
Scarlet Tanager: common questions
Why does the male scarlet tanager change colour after breeding season?
After the breeding season ends, a male moults out of his brilliant scarlet plumage into a dull olive-green closely resembling the female, a transformation that trades the conspicuous colouration useful for attracting a mate during breeding season for camouflage better suited to migration and the winter months, when standing out to predators offers no reproductive benefit.
Why is the scarlet tanager's song often hard to attribute to the right bird?
The male typically sings from high within the closed forest canopy, where dense leaves make the singing bird difficult to see even though the hoarse, burry song, often described as sounding like a robin with a sore throat, carries clearly, meaning birders frequently hear the species well before, or instead of, actually spotting it.
Why does the scarlet tanager need large, unbroken forest?
This species depends specifically on mature forest interior with a closed canopy, generally avoiding the fragmented woodlots and forest edges that many other songbirds tolerate well, a habitat requirement that makes forest fragmentation a genuine concern for the species even though it remains widespread overall.
How far does the scarlet tanager migrate?
This species undertakes a long-distance migration between its breeding range across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada and its wintering grounds in the forests of northwestern South America, a substantial journey completed twice annually.