![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/western-tanager-7025b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-tanager-7025b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nAdult female or juvenile male?<\/p>\n
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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<\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Postscript:<\/em><\/p>\n 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<\/a><\/span><\/span>. Lyle Anderson suggested they might be Trichiotinus affinis<\/a><\/span><\/span> (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.<\/em><\/p>\n