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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Tanagers


The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics. Many species are brightly colored. They are seedeaters, but their preference tends towards fruit and nectar. Most have short, rounded wings. There are 256 species world wide, 6 North American species, and 4 Californian species.

Most tanagers live in pairs or in small groups of 3-5 individuals. These groups may consist simply of parents and their offspring. Birds may also be seen in single species or mixed flocks. Many tanagers are thought to have dull songs, though some are elaborate.

Tanagers are omnivorous, and their diet varies from genus to genus. They have been seen eating fruits, seeds, nectar, flower parts and insects. Many pick insects off branches. Other species look for insects on the underside of leaves. Yet others wait on branches until they see a flying insect and catch it in the air. Many of these particular species inhabit the same areas, but these specializations alleviate competition. A group of tanagers are collectively known as a "season" of tanagers.
The western tanager can be spotted in California nature Despite its striking markings of red, yellow, and black, the slow-moving Western Tanager is a surprisingly inconspicuous bird of the western forests. The Western Tanager breeds farther north than any other member of its mostly tropical family, breeding to nearly 60°N in the Northwest Territories. Three to five bluish-green eggs with irregular brown spots can be found in Western Tanager nests, which is built from twigs high in the trees.

The red pigment in the face of the Western Tanager is rhodoxanthin, a pigment rare in birds. It is not manufactured by the bird, as are the pigments used by the other red tanagers. Instead, it must be acquired from the diet, presumably from insects that themselves acquire the pigment from plants.

This tanager winters in open mountain pine woodlands, second growth, and parks and gardens and breeds in open coniferous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. Males have bright-yellow body, black wings with prominent white bars. Red head in spring and summer. Female is yellow with gray back.

A striking black-winged red bird, the Scarlet Tanager is a common species of the eastern forest interior. Despite its brilliant coloring it is often overlooked because of its rather secretive behavior and its preference for the forest canopy.

The female Scarlet Tanager sings a song similar to the male's, but softer, shorter, and less harsh. She sings in answer to the male's song and while she is gathering nesting material.

The response of the Scarlet Tanager to habitat fragmentation varies from place to place. In the heart of its range in the Northeast, it can be found in small forest patches. In the Midwest, similar sized forest patches would have no tanagers. It breeds in deciduous and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodlands, especially mature forests.
The summer tanager is a beautiful bird in california nature The only entirely red bird in North America, the Summer Tanager is a bird of southern forests. Like most birds that migrate long distances, the Summer Tanager puts on large amounts of fat to fuel the long flight. Tanagers arriving in Panama had enough fat to fly an estimated additional 553 miles.

The Summer Tanager is considered a bee and wasp specialist. It usually catches a bee in flight and then kills it by beating it against a branch. Before eating the bee, the tanager removes the stinger by rubbing it on a branch. The tanager eats bee and wasp larvae too. It first catches the adult insects and then perches near the nest to tear it open and get the grubs.

Where Summer and Scarlet tanagers occur together, the Summer Tanager prefers to breed in shorter and more open woodlands. In the West, the Summer Tanager breeds in lowlands along streams while the Western and Hepatic tanagers use coniferous forests at higher elevations.
The Hepatic Tanager is a bird of the pine-oak forests of the southwestern mountains. Although the Hepatic Tanager has the most restricted range of the four tanagers in the United States, in fact it is the most widespread member of its genus. It breeds from the southwestern United States southward all the way to Argentina.

The Hepatic Tanager is larger and stockier than other tanagers and has a relatively short tail and a stout bill. Its brightest color is always on its forehead and throat. In all plumages, it has grey flanks, dusky cheeks, and a dark eye streak. The female is yellow, and the male is red. Its average weight is 1.3 ounces. Its average wingspan is 12.5 inches and the Hepatic Tanager averages 8 inches in length.

Hepatic means involving or resembling the liver, and these tanagers are named for the coloration of the males which is known as liver-red.
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