Scarlet Tanager

(Piranga olivacea)

Information
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Ramona Abrego

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5B - Secure Breeding

SNRB - Unranked Breeding

Minnesota

not listed


	Description


	Size
	6¼″ to 6¾″ in length 9⅞″ to 117 ⁄16″ wingspan

	Voice

	Four or five raspy notes, described by some as “a robin with a sore throat.”

	Similar Species
	Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) has a prominent crown and a red bill. The male has a black mask and throat. The female is brownish-buff, not yellow. Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) male has red wings and tail, not black. The female has yellow wings, not olive.


	Habitat
	Mature deciduous forests and mixed forests.


	Ecology
	Migration
	May to early October

	Nesting


	Food
	Insects, spiders snales, and earthworms; also seasonal berries.


	Distribution
	Occurrence
	Uncommon migrant and breeder in the Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province and Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. Uncommon to rare migrant in the Prairie Parkland Province.

	Maps
	The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map


	Taxonomy
	Class	Aves (birds)
	Order	Passeriformes (perching birds)
	Family	Cardinalidae (cardinals and allies)
	Genus	Piranga (northern tanagers)

	The genus Piranga was formerly placed in the tanager family Thraupidae. Mitochondrial DNA data from several studies between 1997 and 2007 show that the genus is more closely related to cardinals (family Cardinalidae).

	Synonyms


	Visitor Photos

	Share your photo of this bird.
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	Dan W. Andree

	Male Scarlet Tanager... I heard the unique sounds it was making and located it up in a tree along a small creek in some dense woodlands in Norman County, Mn. May 26 2022. A beautiful bird.

	Female Scarlet Tanager... She perched briefly below on a branch a few feet above a creek.

	They nest in these areas. Particularly areas that have large mature oaks and other mature deciduous trees. Have seen and filmed both male and female in these woodlands and a male molting in summer turning more like the female in color. They arrive around mid-May to a little later in May and are gone by late Aug. I am sending a photo of an adult male I photographed this past Spring. I have seen them in mid-July-Aug. in the same region as well. That is how I know they are staying and not just passing through during migration. I re-sized the photo much smaller than the original. They are a beautiful bird.

	Adult male



	Laura Miller

	Early morning visitor!




	They came back after lunch today … got one more photo



	Gregory Gilman




	Ramona Abrego






	Alicia Schmidt




	Halsey

	We have had up to 10 males and 4 females for the past week. We are on the water in a wooded area. They have been feeding heavily on mealworms.




	Fr. Jason Houck

	... scarlet tanager outside of our office meeting room at St. Mary’s on the East side of Lake Calhoun.


	Kayla Krizek

	Breeding male, just hanging out in our backyard right now! Stunning. Have never seen one in this area before.


	Micheddy

	It was hanging around in our residential neighborhood. My first time ever seeing it, stunning in real life.


	Niga-nab-kwe

	Seen here in the driftless area of southeastern Minnesota at the base of a heavily wooded bluff in a narrow valley with springs nearby. It alit on our deck for a few minutes and was feasting on the blood orange we had put out for the orioles. Breathtaking! What a treat to see it.


	J Pipek

	What a beauty!



	Bill Reynolds

	Male Scarlet Tanager First time ever to be able to watch a Scarlet Tanager in the wild! Ok not the wild, but in the backyard. He is a handsome fellow.




	K Justice

	First time we've had one visit our waterfalls in the back yard. They're very watchful so we couldn't get too close.


	Wayne Rasmussen





	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Camera


	Slideshows


	Scarlet Tanager Allen Chartier




	Scarlet Tanager Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

	Share your video of this bird.
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	Dan W. Andree

	Male & Female Scarlet Tanager. Published on Feb 18, 2015

	About A brief look at the adult male and female Scarlet Tanager I filmed in Northwestern Minnesota. Note the interesting tic burr sound of the adult male.

	Scarlet Tanagers filmed by Dan W. Andree Published on Feb 18, 2015

	About A brief introduction to the Scarlet Tanagers in their natural woodland habitat. The male makes an interesting kind of tic burr sound and also sings in kind of a raspy tone. A bird not as easy to come across in some areas as they prefer large tracts of woodlands. I am always surprised when I come across an adult male in spring. It almost looks like some kind tropical bird.



	Other Videos


	Scarlet Tanager in Maine WIld Bird Video Productions

	About Published on Jun 2, 2014 Found this male scarlet tanager on his territory early in the morning. They're definitely one of the toughest birds to expose for due to the bright red color. Pay no attention to the mud on his forehead! © 2014 Garth McElroy. www.featheredfotos.com



	Scarlet Tanager—Flame of Spring Lang Elliott

	About Uploaded on Apr 22, 2010 Here is a quickie edit of footage I got yesterday evening at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky Not enough for a splendid portrait, but a good beginning. I am surprised at how good the footage looks where the background is white sky. Those would be throwaways in the still photography world. © 2010 Lang Elliott musicofnature.org



	Preening Scarlet Tanager Mike McDowell

	About Uploaded on May 19, 2009 A male Scarlet Tanager preens shortly after bathing in the creek at Pheasant Branch Conservancy on May 19th, 2009.



	Piranga olivacea = SCARLET TANAGER Rob Curtis

	About Published on Jun 3, 2015 Piranga olivacea = SCARLET TANAGER, males and females feeding in maple tree, at Montrose Point in Chicago, 5/6/2015.. Image gallery: http://www.theearlybirder.com/tanager/scrl_tan/index.htm



	Scarlet Tanager in HD Minnesota Freedom Guy

	About Published on May 22, 2013 Scarlet Tanager Please Visit my Website : http://uspimpclub.blogspot.com/\ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/andy.minneapolis Please help support this channel: My Wish List : http://amzn.com/w/2RSXYZXRQL4K6 My Paypal:https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=6EFC2B9K7GUME&lc=US&item_name=Please%20help%20support%20this%20channel%20%21&no_note=0&cn=Add%20special%20instructions%20to%20the%20seller%3a&no_shipping=2¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this bird.
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Dorene 5/15/2023	Location: Lake City, Minnesota It came to our feeders around 4 p.m. This is our first Scarlet Tanager, ever!!!



Dan W. Andree 5/28/2022	Location: rural Norman Co. Mn. She perched briefly below on a branch a few feet above a creek.



Dan W. Andree 5/26/2022	Location: Norman County, Mn. I heard the unique sounds it was making and located it up in a tree along a small creek in some dense woodlands in Norman County, Mn. May 26 2022. A beautiful bird.



Colleen Obrien/ Michael Lack 5/23/2022	Location: Frontenac State Park saw a mail and a female on the upper bluff trail.



Laura Miller 5/22/2022	Location: Little Falls, MN They came back after lunch today … got one more photo



Laura Miller 5/22/2022	Location: Little Falls, MN Early morning visitor!



Meredith 5/21 and 5/22/2022	Location: North Branch, MN Hanging around in the maple tree



Roxanne Nelson 5/21/2022	Location: Maplewood Mn I spotted a male around 3:00pm today. I have no feeders out because of the Avian flu, however he hung around at least ten minutes moving one time in between.



AmyW 5/14/2021	Location: Prior Lake, MN Saw a male at my feeder this afternoon for the 1st time.



Alicia Schmidt 5/18/2020	Location: Cottonwood, MN



John Aronson 5/18/2020	Location: Taylors Falls Mn



Kathryn 5/18/2020	Location: Backyard in Maplewood Mn A pair of males was on our feeder eating the suet. We saw them twice in the afternoon. We have lived here 50 years and this is the first time we have seen these beautiful birds.



Lisa 8/7/2019	Location: Flew to the shoulder of Hwy 107, north of Henriette, MN



Mary 5/28/2019	Location: Woodville Cemetery, Waseca MN



Ramona Abrego 5/27/2019	Location: Becker County



Genevieve Ryan 5/27/2019	Location: near Lake Minnetonka and Excelsior First time seeing at my feeder. I put dried Mealworms in the mix.



Joe 5/27/2019	Location: Minnehaha creek and Nokomis Avenue 2 sighted



Laura Ault 5/28/2019	Location: Golden Valley, MN Male was seen twice today in a pair of large pine trees



Steve 5/28/2019	Location: Princeton, MN He was on the Oriol feeder eating grape jelly.



Rosey 5/28/2019	Location: Hamline-Midway intersection of Aldine and Van Buren Male



Rachel 5/28/2019	Location: Lindstrom



Roberta T 5/25/2019	Location: Elmcrest Park in Ramsey MN Also saw a Baltimore oriole and a goldfinch today at Elmcrest Park. As well as a hummingbird at my house a few miles away. Usually I don’t see the hummers until July or August.



Ron Hammes 5/24/2019	Location: Forest Lake Male spent 20 plus minutes at our black sunflower feeder and the ground. Ate constantly. Flew to edge of marsh and woodline, perched for a few minutes. Lots of quality photos.



Lynne Meyer 5/23/2019	Location: Apple Valley, Minnesota Both ground feeding on the edge of our woods! Lived here almost 30 years, first time seeing this species…now awaiting our yearly indigo bunting.



Fr. Jason Houck 5/22/2019	Location: Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, MN ... scarlet tanager outside of our office meeting room at St. Mary’s on the East side of Lake Calhoun.



Kayla Krizek 5/21/2019	Location: Oakdale, MN Breeding male, just hanging out in our backyard right now! Stunning. Have never seen one in this area before.



Annie 5/21/2019	Location: Saint Cloud MN



Micheddy 5/20/2019	Location: St. Michael, MN It was hanging around in our residential neighborhood. My first time ever seeing it, stunning in real life.



Halsey 5/19/2019	Location: New Brighton, MN We have had up to 10 males and 4 females for the past week. We are on the water in a wooded area. They have been feeding heavily on mealworms.



Sabrina Jennings 5/19/2019	Location: sw Rochester



Niga-nab-kwe 5/11/2019	Location: rural Winona County, 5 miles southwest of Winona and the Mississippi River Seen here in the driftless area of southeastern Minnesota at the base of a heavily wooded bluff in a narrow valley with springs nearby. It alit on our deck for a few minutes and was feasting on the blood orange we had put out for the orioles. Breathtaking! What a treat to see it.



J Pipek 5/21/2018	Location: Detroit Lakes, MN What a beauty!



Bill Reynolds 5/20/2018	Location: Pennington Co. MN First time ever to be able to watch a Scarlet Tanager in the wild! Ok not the wild, but in the backyard. He is a handsome fellow.



Dan W. Andree 6/2/2017	Location: Norman County, Mn. Woodlands along the Wild Rice River and a tributary of the Wild Rice River. They nest in these areas. Particularly areas that have large mature oaks and other mature deciduous trees. Have seen and filmed both male and female in these woodlands and a male molting in summer turning more like the female in color. They arrive around mid-May to a little later in May and are gone by late Aug. I am sending a photo of an adult male I photographed this past Spring. I have seen them in mid-July-Aug. in the same region as well. That is how I know they are staying and not just passing through during migration. I re-sized the photo much smaller than the original. They are a beautiful bird.



Dan W. Andree 6/2/2017	Location: Norman County, Mn. mature woodlands near a tributary to the Wild Rice River. Adult male



ERJurgenson 5/21/2017	Location: akeley mn Two in our front yard



Jim Breza 7/4/2016	Location: Winona, MN I have seen them last and this year by our pond in the backyard. We are in a heavily wooded valley and they stand right out when they are at the water's edge.



K Justice 6/23/2016	Location: Elk River, MN First time we've had one visit our waterfalls in the back yard. They're very watchful so we couldn't get too close.



Wayne Rasmussen 5/30/2016	Location: Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Scarlet-tanager at Big Woods



Gregory Gilman 5/18/2015	Location: Rochester, MN



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