Male Scarlet Tanagers are among the most beautiful birds in the eastern U.S. forest in Summer, with blood-red bodies set off by jet-black wings and tail. They’re also one of the most frustratingly hard to find, as they stay high in the forest canopy singing their rich songs.

The yellowish-green, dark-winged females can be even harder to spot until you key in on this bird’s call note. In Fall, males trade red feathers for yellow-green and the birds take off for South America.

Insects are the primary food of the Scarlet Tanager. Most often the Scarlet Tanager moves slowly through tree tops searching for beetles and caterpillars; however they do feed on other insects as well – like bees, wasps and butterflies.

Breeding Scarlet Tanagers prefer large, mature forest tracts with large trees. They can easily be overlooked because of their unobtrusive behavior and preference for residing in the forest canopy. I’ve only seen a this bird once before and it was several years ago in West Virginia. I was pretty stoked to come across a pair of them this year in Brecksville Reservation.

Third Eye Herp
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