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<\/p>\nProviding more variety in tanager perches.<\/p>\n
In the last week or so I’ve posted photos of male Western Tanagers perched on an old stump, on a rock and buried in the grass. This one is perched on a spring-green aspen branch. Some of my recent photos may not have a lot of variety in bird species but at least I have variety in their perches and settings.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Last week this male was hawking insects from the aspens and he apparently chose this bare part of a branch to give him a better view of potential prey. When he looked to his right it allowed me a composition that included fresh aspen leaves that I think strengthen the image. I have photos of him looking to his left but there’s white aspen bark in that direction that I don’t like in those photos as well. The bark is just too bright.<\/p>\n When I zoomed in on this bird at high resolution he appears to have an insect leg and other bits of insect exoskeleton hanging off of his bill.<\/p>\n Of the two males I photographed in this area this is the one with significantly darker reds on his head and neck. Neither sex has any red in its plumage except during the breeding season and there’s an interesting explanation for that. Unlike other tanager species with reds in their plumage the reds of this species come from a rare plumage pigment called rhodaxanthin which Western Tanagers cannot produce themselves so it must come from an external source. That source is presumed to be the insects that are their primary diet during breeding season.<\/p>\n But during the nonbreeding season their diet is primarily fruits and berries that do not contain any rhodoxanthin so they lose the reds in their plumage when they molt.<\/p>\n So it’s my guess that the reason one of “my” males had more intense reds than the other is because that particular bird had been eating fewer insects that contained rhodoxanthin, perhaps during migration.<\/p>\n If my guess is incorrect I’d appreciate knowing the real explanation for variations in the intensities of reds in the plumage of adult Western Tanagers during the breeding season.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n