Western Tanager

Adult female or juvenile male?

 

1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in

Five days ago while I was photographing other birds in the mountains this Western Tanager surprised the heck out of me when it appeared from out of nowhere and landed quite close to my pickup. I was surprised because I rarely see tanagers in that area and I had no idea this one was nearby. I think it was just curious about me because it stared into my pickup for about three seconds without significantly changing its posture and then it was gone.

My first impression was that it was an adult female but now I’m not so sure. I’m seeing a slight tinge of red between its eye and bill so if forced to make a semi-educated guess I’d now go with juvenile male. But I’m definitely better at photographing birds than I am at identifying them so I won’t claim it as fact.

This photo may only be a ‘bird on a stick’ but I like the way he/she is framed by the branches and I don’t get many chances with tanagers so for me any good photo of a tanager is worthy of note.

Ron

 

Postscript:

In yesterday’s post I asked for help from my readers in identifying some unusual-looking insects that looked like crosses between beetles and bees. Lyle Anderson suggested they might be Trichiotinus affinis (a type of scarab beetle) but I was skeptical and said so. But on closer inspection I believe he may have been right and by extension so was Pam Skaar when she implied that I should take a closer look before dismissing Lyle’s suggestion. Which I did.

So thanks Lyle and Pam. Credit where credit’s due…

 

24 Comments

  1. Three seconds for a good photo and you got one. It might take me longer just to ID the species, let alone aiming and focusing the camera.
    The males in breeding plumage always remind me of the multi-colored popsicles we would get off the ice cream truck when we were kids. Since the bird world is hot on renaming birds I vote for Popsicle Tanager. Western is so boring.

    • Lyle, the advantage for me is that once I get that “good photo” I have all the time in the world to make the ID.

      I agree, their name is far from creative and certainly not very interesting. And I love Popsicle Tanager.

    • Excellent suggestion! LOL

  2. After admiring the beauty I read the comments. As I always do. Beauty and learning are a wonderful start to the day. Thank you all. While ‘we’ are probably leaning towards a juvenile male, the bird (and its cohorts) will have no doubts.

  3. I gave up trying to differentiate between female and juvenile tanagers awhile ago, tanager visits to my fountain are so infrequent I want to just enjoy their presence while I can without making myself crazy. But with that tiny splash of red on the face, I’d be inclined to say “it’s a boy!” Lovely pic, BTW.

  4. Being from Ohio, I see Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, but on one of our Arizona trips I had the privilege of seeing a western tanager, an adult male. He was stunning, and took my breath away!

  5. One can’t always be positive about sex ID in some birds. A blush of red usually means an immature bird, but not always. Apparently, some older females occasionally have an increase in testosterone and may incorporate some of the red pigment into their new feathers. The red is from a pigment called rhodoxanthin which is found in some plants. Western Tanagers obtain the pigment by eating insects which feed on these plants. Other tanagers (Scarlet, Summer, etc.) do not use this pigment but use carotenoids more typical of other red birds. If a tanager does not find enough of the pigment-filled insets during the critical time of feather development, it might also not be fully red. Usually, the insects are plentiful enough that this is seldom a problem.

    The feather tips on an adult may look worn but molt occurs from early July to September. If this bird had already bred and molted early, it would show fresh feathers. Worn feathers would certainly be an adult but fresh feathers at this time of year does not necessarily mean immature.

  6. NO idea…… 😉 Pretty whether juvenile male or adult female…. 🙂 Doing the smoke thing here this morning…….

  7. sallie reynolds

    “Around here,” by the way, is Northern California foothills.

  8. sallie reynolds

    Here, the female Western Tanager is less yellow in the front and on the head, more like cream, and greener on the back. I haven’t seen one with the red blush around the beak, but then I get to see one or two a year.

  9. Everett F Sanborn

    I was certain it was a female till you pointed out the red blush there. Still not certain, but very well could be a juvenile male. I’m always happy when one or two appear. Where I see them here in a riparian area they hop around so often and so fast I always think it is a miracle when I actually get a decent shot of one. I envy you being able to shoot from your truck because the birds are obviously not as concerned as they are with those of us on foot.
    Often a bird-on-a-stick makes for an excellent photo as this one does.

    • “I always think it is a miracle when I actually get a decent shot of one”

      I’m in that very same boat, Everett. I probably average about one or two decent chances with tanagers per year. And I typically flub at least one of them…

  10. YOU might call it a “bird on a stick”, but I call it a lovely simple frame which
    serves to amplify a subtle detail– the blush of color on the face–a nice
    focal point for the photo…..

  11. I’d blow it up to 100% and take a look at the edges/tips on the wing and tail feathers to look for wear. An adult should (probably) be in worn plumage, and molt after breeding and before migration. A juvenile should look fresh.

    From what I can see the wing coverts look pretty fresh.

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