Scarlet Tanager

Look for

Spring male: flaming scarlet body with jet-black wings and tail — the most vivid red-black contrast among Memphis birds. Looks like a stoplight in the canopy. Female: olive-yellow with dark wings. Fall male: molting — patchy red-yellow-green with dark wings, a striking intermediate.

Size: ~7" — between a sparrow and a robin.

Listen for

• Song: a robin-like, burry, warbled series — "hurry, worry, flurry, blurry" — slower and rougher than a real robin. "Robin with a sore throat" is the common comparison.
• Call: a distinctive "chick-burr" — quick two-note give.

Where in Memphis

Migration only (not a local breeder like Summer Tanager).

• Overton Park Old Forest — reliable spring and fall
• Meeman-Shelby Forest
• Wolf River Greenway
• Shelby Farms, Lichterman

Peak migration early-to-mid May and mid-September.

Behavior

• High-canopy forager — hard to see despite spectacular color.
• Eats mostly caterpillars during migration, fruit in winter.
• Song sessions from exposed perches when males are establishing spring territory.

Story

The tanager pair

Memphis gets two tanager species:

• Summer Tanager (all-red, no black) = breeds here
• Scarlet Tanager (red with black wings) = migration only

Seeing both in the same day in Overton Park in May is a rite of passage for Memphis birders.

The black-winged redbird

Old Southern folk name — accurate shorthand. When you first spot one, the brain reads "cardinal!" then does a double-take: no crest, black wings, different shape. Scarlet Tanager.

Where they go

They breed in the mature deciduous forests of the northern U.S. and southern Canada, and winter in the Andes and the foothills of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Memphis is a waypoint.

Fun facts

• Males molt from scarlet-and-black (breeding) to olive-and-black (winter) — one of the most dramatic seasonal plumage shifts.
• Their scientific name olivacea refers to the olive color of females and non-breeding males (misleading for the spring males).
• Oldest known wild Scarlet Tanager: 11+ years.
• In Chestnut Oak forest, they're one of the most important caterpillar predators, helping limit pest outbreaks.