TANAGERS

Hepatic Tanager

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Piranga flava

The Hepatic Tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family, it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family. The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.

The Hepatic Tanager is a medium-sized, solidly built songbird with a short, heavy bill, relatively long tail and wings, and strong legs and feet.
Adult males are grayish brick-red above, reddish below, with a grayish ear patch.
Adult females are olive-yellow above, yellowish below, with a dusky ear patch.
Juveniles are grayish-olive above, buffy below, and lightly streaked overall.
Immatures are similar to adult females but are duller. All have dark bill and legs.
Both sexes are about 3.5 - 7.9 inches long with a wingspan of 12.6 inches and 23 - 47 grams in weight.

CALL: A clipped “tchup” is the most commonly heard call; in flight, birds occasionally give a soft, jaylike "wenk".

SONG: Primary song is a sweet, mellow, robinlike warble that might recall Black- headed Grosbeak, lasting 3–4 seconds.

Feeds mostly on insects, but will also feed heavily on fruits and berries when available.

Nests in open pine and pine-oak woodlands of western mountains; winters in similar habitats. Migrants stopover in woodlands, desert oases, and wooded stream corridors.

Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and locally in southern California and Colorado) to northern Argentina.

The nest is a cup built of grasses and weed stems, placed in a tree, often quite high up in the branches. The female lays between 3 - 5 bluish-green eggs speckled with brown or purple, especially around the large end. Both parents help feed the young after the eggs hatch.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.allaboutbirds.org
https://www.sdakotabirds.com