Illustration from National Geographic's Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
June 6, 1806, at Camp Chopunnish, Idaho County, Idaho.
Adult male has brilliant red head, bright yellow body, with black back, wings, and tail. Two wing bars; smaller uppermost bar yellow, lower one white. Female is yellow-green above, yellow below; wing bars similar to male's. Length: 6-7.5 in (15-19 cm).
Song is robinlike in its short fluty phrases, rendered with a pause in between. The quality is much hoarser, however. Call is a dry pit-r-ick.
Open coniferous forests.
Breeds from southern Alaska and Mackenzie southward. Winters in tropics.
