By Boysenberry45
Behold the male Scarlet Tanager, one of the most brilliantly colorful birds seen in Central Park during spring migration. If you see a group of birders looking up at the treetops, ooh-ing and aah-ing each time they catch a glimpse as if they were watching a fireworks display, join them and you might see a Scarlet Tanager flitting around, dazzling the crowd.
The bright red color is sufficiently visible so that you won’t even need binoculars to spot one. Sadly, after breeding, the male molts and more closely resembles the somewhat drab, olive-yellow female, but with darker wings and tail.
The Scarlet Tanager sometimes also lurks at eye level in densely wooded areas eating fruit, but is most often found high up in tulip trees, eating blooms and insects.
One of about 240 feathered miracles that come through the park every year. Ea.ch has its own song in the spring, too. It’s a must see show,
Great article, loving this new column!
Agreed, great new column…but please bring back Pupper Westside!
As a young child in the 1950s I was amazed by a flock of Scarlet Tanagers that had landed in front of me on the median strip of grass at the Promenade in Riverside Park. Although the incident turned me to lifelong love of the natural world, birding and even outdoor photography I’ve not seen another Scarlet Tanager since. Rendering it, I guess a rather cherished memory.