Central Park Birding Report: Scarlet Tanagers Have Arrived

Text and photographs by Bosenberry45

Think you have family problems? Imagine how the Scarlet Tanager feels. A medium-sized American songbird, it used to be part of the Tanager family (Thraupidae) but is now classified as part of the Cardinal family (Cardinalidae)! It’s easy to see how this happened, given the similarity in vocalization and plumage, but it’s also easy to see how this might lead to some awkward family dynamics.

Northern Cardinals reside in Central Park year-round, but Scarlet Tanagers winter in the Amazon basin and rainforest in South America. To the delight of local birders, Tanagers pass through New York City on their way further north to breed in the spring and then again in the fall as they return to South America for the winter. During Spring Migration, male Scarlet Tanagers have brilliant red bodies, with jet black wings and a greyish conical beak. Is it an optical illusion that male Scarlet Tanagers seem more dazzling than male Cardinals because they are noticeably smaller (about 2” in length), or simply because we’re so accustomed to seeing Cardinals? Female Tanagers are far less flashy than the males, with drab yellowish-green bodies and dark wings. (Pay close attention to wing color in the spring – if the Tanager is brilliant red all over, it’s a male Summer Tanager!)

When Scarlet Tanagers pass through Central Park heading south during Fall Migration, their appearance will be more subdued, and the males will resemble the females with similarly drab plumage. Even with their blazing red spring plumage, these beauties are somewhat hard to spot since they often spend their time high up in the tree canopy. They feed on insects employing a hunting method called “sallying” – the Tanager will fly out from its sky-high perch to catch an insect mid-flight and then return to the same perch until its next target is spotted. Tanagers also eat fruit, so if you are lucky, you might catch one dining lower down in the treescape.

If you notice a group of birders looking high up in the trees in Central Park, oohing and aahing as if they are watching Fourth of July fireworks, it is quite possible they are enjoying the flights of fancy of a brightly colored male Tanager. If you are even luckier and spot a Scarlet Tanager nest, notice if one of the eggs is ever so slightly different in appearance. Cowbird eggs are similar enough that on occasion, Cowbirds have been known to replace one of the Tanager eggs with one of their own to trick the unsuspecting Scarlet Tanager into raising a foster bird!

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