Tanagers finds home among Idaho's trees
—Photo courtesy DON BARTLING A female Western Tanager finds a spot to check things out at the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge recently.
—Photo courtesy DON BARTLING A juvenile Western Tanager hides among the trees at the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge recently.
—Photo courtesy DON BARTLING A male Western Tanager.
Several weeks ago I was on the west side of the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge by Myrtle Creek when I noticed a brightly colored bird about 6-7 inches long, with a brilliant red head, bright yellow body, black back, wings and tail. I quickly reviewed my Birds of Idaho field guide to identify this beautiful bird. The guide confirmed it was a male Western Tanager. The female is duller in color than the male, lacking the red head. The juvenile is similar to the female.
You can get a real neck ache watching a Western Tanager foraging. It spends all of its time up in the trees checking out the leaves for food. The one thing you can’t help but notice, though, is the male’s brilliant coloring. Research has shown that the red pigment on his head comes from a chemical found in the insects the Tanager eats!
Western Tanagers are not easy to see because they forage in the upper branches of trees. They eat insects, small fruit, berries, invertebrates and spiders. In the process of eating they will fly out to catch insects on the wing and perch high in the tree canopy.
Western Tanagers are monogamous; pairs form during migration or on their wintering grounds. The female builds her nest on a horizontal branch of pine or an oak tree. She positions it well out from the trunk and up about 20 to 40 feet. The female lays 3-5 eggs and incubates them for around 13 days. The male feeds the female during incubation. After the young hatch, both parents will feed and care for the young. The young leave the nest at around 11 days, but stay around close for another two weeks.
The Tanager is common throughout Idaho. It’s breeding range includes forests along the western coast of North American from Alaska to Baja California, extended east to Texas and through central New Mexico and north to the Northwest Territories. They sometimes winter-over in Southern California, but are usually found wintering in South America. Western Tanagers migrate at night and at high altitudes.
The first Western Tanager was recorded on the Lewis and Clark expedition 1803-06.
Enjoy the beautiful out of doors in Boundary County and what is left of summer!!
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