Flame-colored Tanager

Piranga bidentataOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Tanagers (Thraupidae)

Codes: Common Name: FCTA Scientific Name: PIRBID ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179891

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Casual

Egg Color:

Green to blue with gray and brown speckles

Number of Eggs:

2 - 5

Incubation Days:

13 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Made of sticks, conifer needles, rootlets, and grasses, and lined with fine materials.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

Flame-colored Tanager: Tropical tanager with flame red-orange body, black wings with white wing bars and spots, and black-streaked back. Face has pale gray-tinged ear patch bordered with black. Female and juvenile are washed olive-green above and olive-yellow below.

Range and Habitat

Flame-colored Tanager: Resident in Mexico, visits mountains of southwest Texas and nests in southeastern Arizona. Preferred habitats include humid coniferous, oak, and pine-oak forests in mountains.

Breeding and Nesting

Flame-colored Tanager: Two to five green to blue eggs with gray and brown speckles are laid in a cup nest made of sticks, conifer needles, rootlets, and grass, and lined with finer materials. Nest is built on a tree branch 15 to 50 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Flame-colored Tanager: Feeds on insects and fruits. Forages from middle to high levels in trees; gleans insects from branches and foliage.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

Flame-colored Tanager: Song is a series of vireo-like phrases, "chick-churee-chuwee." Call is hard, rolled "pr-reck."

Similar Species

Flame-colored Tanager: Western Tanager has yellow body, red head, and pink-yellow bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Flame-colored Tanager

Flame-colored Tanager: Tropical tanager, flame red-orange body, black wings with white wing bars and spots, black-streaked back. Face has pale gray-tinged ear patch bordered with black. Bill is gray, legs, feet are black. Swift, direct flight. It is the national bird of Puerto Rico.

● Song: "chick-churee-chuwee", "pr-reck"

● Foraging & Feeding: Flame-colored Tanager: Feeds on insects and fruits. Forages from middle to high levels in trees; gleans insects from branches and foliage.

● Breeding & nesting: Flame-colored Tanager: Two to five green to blue eggs with gray and brown speckles are laid in a cup nest made of sticks, conifer needles, rootlets, and grass, and lined with finer materials. Nest is built on a tree branch 15 to 50 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Flame-colored Tanager: Western Tanager has yellow body, red head, and pink-yellow bill.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with rapid wing beats.

Flame-colored Tanager Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Flame-colored Tanager: Resident in Mexico, visits mountains of southwest Texas and nests in southeastern Arizona. Preferred habitats include humid coniferous, oak, and pine-oak forests in mountains.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCasual

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight1.2 Ounces

Ear patch

Consists of soft, loose-webbed feathers on the side of the bird's head below and behind the eyes.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America