#PirangaLudoviciana
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Western Tanager.

#birds #birding #westerntanager #pirangaludoviciana
Female(?) Western Tanager on a lichen-blanketed branch, holding a wasp.
August 29, 2025 at 3:57 PM
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🌎 Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) #NorthAmericanBirds #CentralAmericanBirds | #WesternTanager #PirangaLudoviciana | #Tanagers #NorthernTanagers #CardinalFamily #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by Veronika_Andrews🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌎 Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) The male Western Tanager (Pictured) has a striking red-orange head, bright yellow body, and black wings, back, and tail. Females are yellow-green and blackish. They breed in open coniferous and mixed woods across western North America, from Alaska down to Mexico, where they also winter. A long-distance migrant, it forages for insects and fruit, often high in the canopy. Its song is described as a hoarse, burry robin-like sound. No subspecies are recognised. Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Unlike most red birds, the male's scarlet head is not colored by typical plant pigments (carotenoids) but by a rare pigment called rhodoxanthin. They likely acquire this unique pigment indirectly by eating insects that have fed on conifer needles or buds. 📷: Photo by Veronika_Andrews via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/western-tanagers-bird-wild-bird-7315833/ HUAV
November 16, 2025 at 1:35 PM