Description: Large tanager with a hefty bill. Adult males are completely red; immature males are dull yellow-olive with blotchy patches of red.
Common Name: Piranga rubra
Family: Cardinalidae
Habitats: Their breeding habitat is open wooded areas, especially with oaks, across the southern United States, extending as far north as Iowa. These birds migrate to Mexico, Central America and northern South America.
Range: It breeds from southern Mexico (North America) to Panama; also Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica.
Large tanager with a hefty bill. Adult males are completely red; immature males are dull yellow-olive with blotchy patches of red. Females are variable in color, ranging from pale dull yellow to brighter orange. Can be confused with female Scarlet Tanager; Summer has a longer, paler bill and less contrast between wing and body color. Also compare with dustier-looking, stouter-billed Hepatic Tanager. Breeds in mature forests, favoring mixed deciduous and pine in the southeastern U.S. and riparian corridors in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. Extensive winter range from Mexico to Bolivia, where it can be found in any wooded area. Often gives a short, descending rattle “pit-a-tuck.”
