Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) lives in coniferous forests across North America. It feeds on insects and fruit. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Western Tanager
- A western tanager can stretch from alpine heights, nesting as low as 183 ft (56 m) in Oregon's Willamette Valley and as high as 10,000 ft (3,050 m), showing its ability to breed across a elevation span. This flexibility lets the species occupy diverse forest types and buffers it against climate shifts that might push suitable habitat upward.
- A single western tanager can live nearly eight years on average, with a banded bird reaching 7 years 11 months.
- Western tanagers build cup nests in about four to five days, using twigs, rootlets, grasses and pine needles, and lay an average clutch of 3.8 eggs in Boulder County, Colorado. The rapid nest construction and moderate clutch size help offset high predation rates that can drop nest success below 20 % in some years.
- During migration, western tanagers may travel alone or in flocks of up to 30 birds, with hatching-year birds arriving later than adults at stopover sites like the Rio Grande Nature Center.
- Western tanagers favor large, mature trees: in British Columbia they nested 79 % of the time in conifers, mainly Douglas fir, with nests placed about 30 ft (9.3 m) high, often 80 % of the way out on a branch. This preference for high, sturdy perches likely reduces predation risk and provides better foraging access in the canopy.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatConiferous forests
DietInsects and fruit
About the Western Tanager
As the Western Tanager flits through the sun-dappled forests of North America, its vibrant orange and yellow plumage flashes like a ray of sunlight, illuminating the dense underbrush with an air of ephemeral brilliance. With each swift, darting movement, the tanager weaves a mesmerizing dance through the trees, its song a melodic whisper that echoes through the foliage like a gentle breeze. In its annual migrations, this remarkable bird traverses vast expanses of continent, a tiny, iridescent traveler bridging the gaps between wintering grounds and summer habitats with effortless grace.
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