Summer Tanager

About the Summer Tanager

The male Summer Tanager is a showstopper - the only entirely red bird in North America, glowing rose-red from bill to tail with no black anywhere. Females and young are a warm mustard-yellow. Robin-sized and unhurried, it moves deliberately through the canopy where its color can be surprisingly easy to miss among sunlit leaves.

A specialist on bees and wasps, the Summer Tanager catches them on the wing, beats them against a branch to remove the sting, and even raids their nests for larvae - earning it the old name beebird. It also takes other insects and fruit, and sings a sweet, robin-like warble from high in the trees.

In Texas it is a warm-season breeder across much of the state, arriving in spring to open woodlands, riverside groves, and shady neighborhoods before heading back to the tropics in fall.

A note from behind the lens: that solid red male is a prize, but he loves the high canopy - patience and a bit of neck strain come with the territory. Watch for birds dropping to water or to lower fruiting branches, and shoot when soft light filters through the leaves.