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Scarlet tanager

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Scarlet tanager
Adult male
Female
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Piranga
Species:
P. olivacea
Binomial name
Piranga olivacea
(Gmelin,1789)
Breeding
Migration
Nonbreeding

Note: distribution onHispaniolaandPuerto Riconot shown

Synonyms

Piranga erythromelas

Adult female Scarlet Tanager, showcasing the yellow-olive plumage typical of the sex. Photographed inOttawa,Ontario.

Thescarlet tanager(Piranga olivacea) is a medium-sizedAmericansongbird.Until recently, it was placed in thetanagerfamily(Thraupidae), but it and other members of its genus are now classified as belonging to the cardinal family (Cardinalidae).[2]The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family, although thePirangaspecies lacks the thick conical bill (well suited to seed and insect eating) that many cardinals possess. The species resides in thick deciduous woodlands and suburbs.

Etymology

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The genus namePirangais fromTupiTijepiranga,the name for an unknown small bird, and the specificolivaceais fromNeo-Latinolivaceus,"olive-green".[3]

Description

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Male moulting to his duller feathers during autumn

The scarlet tanager, a mid-sizedpasserine,is marginally the smallest of the four species ofPirangathat breed north of the Mexican border. It can weigh from 23.5 to 38 g (0.83 to 1.34 oz), with an average of 25 g (0.88 oz) during breeding and an average of 35 g (1.2 oz) at the beginning of migration. Scarlet tanagers can range in length from 16 to 19 cm (6.3 to 7.5 in) and from 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) in wingspan.[4]Adults of both sexes have pale, horn-colored, fairly stout, and smooth-textured bills. Adult males arecrimson-redwith black wings and tail. The male's coloration is intense and deeply red, similar but deeper in shade than the males of two occasionally co-existing relatives, thenorthern cardinaland thesummer tanager,both which lack black wings. Females are yellowish on the underparts and olive on top, with yellow-olive-toned wings and tail. The adult male's winter plumage is similar to the female's, but the wings and tail remain darker. Young males briefly show a more complex, variegated plumage intermediate between adult males and females.

Female eating aflowering dogwoodfruit in New York

The somewhat confusingspecific epithetolivacea( "theolive-colored one ") was based on a female or immature specimen rather thanerythromelas( "the red-and-black one" ), which authors attempted to ascribe to the species throughout the 19th century (older scientific names always takes precedence, however).

Female, immature, and nonbreeding males may be distinguished from the same ages and sexes in summer tanagers, which are more brownish overall, andwestern tanagers,which always have bold white bars and more yellowish undersides than scarlet tanagers. The song of the scarlet tanager sounds somewhat like a hoarser version of theAmerican robin's and is only slightly dissimilar from the songs of the summer and western tanagers. The call of the scarlet tanager is an immediately distinctivechip-burrorchip-churr,which is very different from thepit-i-tuckof the summer tanager and the softer, rolledpri-ticorprit-i-ticof western tanager.[5]

Behavior

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Their breeding habitat is large stretches of deciduous forest, especially withoaks,across eastern North America. They can occur, with varying degrees of success, in young successional woodlands and occasionally in extensive plantings of shade trees in suburban areas, parks, and cemeteries. For a viable breeding population, at least 10 to 12hectaresof forest are required.[6][7]In winter, Scarlet tanagersmigrateto themontane forestof the Andean foothills of northwestern South America, passing through Central America around April, and again around October.[8]They begin arriving in their breeding grounds in numbers by about May and already start to move south again in midsummer; by early October, they are all on their way south.[9][10]The bird is an extremely rare vagrant toWestern Europe.

Call of the scarlet tanager

Scarlet tanagers are often out of sight, foraging high in trees, sometimes flying out to catch insects in flight and then returning to the same general perch, in a hunting style known as "sallying".Sometimes, however, they also capture their prey on the forest floor. They eat mainly insects, but opportunistically consumefruitwhen plentiful. Any flying variety of insect can readily be taken when common, such asbees,wasps,hornets,ants,andsawflies;mothsandbutterflies;beetles;flies;cicadas,leafhoppers,spittlebugs,treehoppers,plant lice,andscale insects;termites;grasshoppersandlocusts;dragonflies;anddobsonflies.Scarlet tanagers also takesnails,earthworms,andspiders.[11][12]Whilesummer tanagersare famous for this feeding method, when capturing bees, wasps, and hornets, scarlet tanagers also rake the prey against a branch to remove their stingers before consumption.[13]Plant components of their diet include a wide variety of fruits that are eaten mainly when insect population are low:blackberries(Rubus allegheniensis),raspberries(R. ideaus),huckleberries(Gaylussaciasp.),juneberriesandserviceberries(Amelanchierspp.),mulberries(Morus rubra),strawberries(Fragaria virginiana), andchokeberries(Aronia melanocarpa).[14][15]

Breeding

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Male scarlet tanagers reach their breeding ground from mid-May to early June. Females generally arrive several days to a week later. Nest building and egg laying both occur usually in less than two weeks after the adults arrive. The clutch is usually four eggs, occasionally from three to five and exceptionally from one to six eggs may be laid. The eggs are a light blue color, often with a slight greenish or whitish tinge. Incubation lasts for 11 to 14 days. Hatching and fledging are both reached at different points in summer depending on how far north the tanagers are breeding, from June-early July in the southern parts of its breeding range to as late as August or even early September in the northernmost part of its range.[5]The average weight at hatching is 3.97 g (0.140 oz), with the nestlings increasing their weight to 20–22 g (0.71–0.78 oz) by 10 days, or 70% of the parent's weight. The young leave the nest by 9–12 days of age and fly capably by the time they are a few weeks old. If the nesting attempt is disturbed, scarlet tanagers apparently are unable to attempt a second brood, as several other passerines can. In a study of 16 nests inMichigan,50% were successful in producing one or more fledglings.[16]In westernNew York,fledgling success increased from 22% in scattered patches of woods to as high as 64% in extensive, undisturbed hardwood forest.[7]

Threats and status

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Stuffed scarlet tanager from 1860s,St. Barthélemy

Exposure and starvation can occasionally kill scarlet tanagers, especially when exceptionally cold or wet weather hits eastern North America. They often die from collisions with man-made objects including TV and radio towers, buildings and cars.[17]Beyond failure due tobrood parasitismofbrown-headed cowbirds(Molothrus ater), predation is the primary direct cause of nesting failures. In one study, 69–78% of nests were preyed upon.[18]Recorded nestpredatorsare primarily avian likeblue jays(Cyanocitta cristata),common grackles(Quiscalus quiscula) andAmerican crows(Corvus brachyrhynchos), although others such assquirrels,chipmunks,raccoons(Procyon lotor), domesticcats(Felis catus), andsnakestake a heavy toll. Raptorial birds hunt and kill many scarlet tanagers from fledgling throughout their adult lives, including all threeNorth AmericanAccipiterspecies,merlins(Falco columbarius), andowls,includingeastern screech owls(Megascops asio),barred owls(Strix varia),long-eared owls(Asio otus), andshort-eared owls(Asio flammeus).[5][19][20]

Scarlet tanagers birds do best in the forest interior, where they are less exposed to predators and brood parasitism by thebrown-headed cowbird.Being a bird that evolved to breed in forest interior and not exposed to the brown cowbird prior tohabitat fragmentation,scarlet tanagers have not evolved any defensive strategies to cope with it. Where forest fragmentation occurs, which is quite widespread, the scarlet tanager suffers high rates of predation and brood parasitism in small forest plots and is often absent completely from plots less than a minimum size. Their nests are typically built on horizontal tree branches. Specifically, their numbers are declining in some areas due to habitat fragmentation, but theIUCNstill classifies the scarlet tanager as being ofleast concern.

References

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  1. ^BirdLife International (2016)."Piranga olivacea".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22722466A94767758.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22722466A94767758.en.Retrieved11 November2021.
  2. ^Remsen, J. V., Jr., C.D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J.F. Pacheco, M.B. Robbins, T.S. Schulenberg, F.G. Stiles, D.F. Stotz, and K.J. Zimmer. (2009-04-02).A classification of the bird species of South AmericaArchived2009-03-02 at theWayback Machine.American Ornithologists' Union.
  3. ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 281, 308.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^7.del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Christie, D.A. (2011).Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds.Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  5. ^abcMowbray, Thomas B. (1999).Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea),The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/479
  6. ^Robbins, C.S., D.K. Dawson, and B.A. Dowell (1989).Habitat area requirements of breeding forest birds of the Middle Atlantic states.Wildl. Monogr. 103.
  7. ^abRoberts, C. and C.J. Norment (1999).Effects of plot size and habitat characteristics on breeding success of Scarlet Tanagers.Auk 116:73-82.
  8. ^Herrera, Néstor; Rivera, Roberto; Ibarra Portillo, Ricardo & Rodríoguez, Wilfredo (2006): Nuevos registros para la avifauna de El Salvador. [ "New records for the avifauna of El Salvador" ].Boletín de la Sociedad Antioqueña de Ornitología16(2): 1–19. [Spanish with English abstract]PDF fulltext
  9. ^Henninger, W.F. (1906)."A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio"(PDF).Wilson Bulletin.18(2): 47–60.
  10. ^Ohio Ornithological Society (2004):Annotated Ohio state checklistArchived2004-07-18 at theWayback Machine.
  11. ^"Scarlet Tanager | Audubon Field Guide".Audubon.Retrieved2024-04-25.
  12. ^"Scarlet Tanager".All about birds.Retrieved2024-04-25.
  13. ^Grant, C. (1945).Drone bees selected by birds.Condor, 261-263.
  14. ^E.g. ofGumbo-limbo(Bursera simaruba).Trophis racemosa(Moraceae), and especially ofCymbopetalum mayanum(Annonaceae):Foster, Mercedes S. (2007)."The potential of fruiting trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico".Bird Conservation International.17:45–61.doi:10.1017/S0959270906000554.
  15. ^Mcatee, W.L. (1926).The relation of birds to woodlots in New York State.Roosevelt Wildlife Bulletin no. 4.
  16. ^Prescott, K.W. (1965). "The Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). "N.J. State Mus. Invest. no. 2.
  17. ^Stevenson, H.M. and B.H. Anderson. (1994).The birdlife of Florida.Univ. Press of Florida, Gainesville.
  18. ^Brawn, J. D.; Robinson, S. K. (1996). "Source-sink population dynamics may complicate the interpretation of long-term census data".Ecology.77(1): 3–12.doi:10.2307/2265649.JSTOR2265649.
  19. ^Hamerstrom Jr, F.N., & Hamerstrom, F. (1951). "Food of young raptors on the Edwin S. George Reserve."The Wilson Bulletin16-25.
  20. ^Meng, H. (1959). "Food habits of nesting Cooper's Hawks and Goshawks in New York and Pennsylvania."The Wilson Bulletin169-174.
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