Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana (Wilson, A, 1811)

Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, is a passerine of western North America, breeding from western and central Canada through western USA to extreme north-west Mexico and wintering in western Massachusetts. It belongs to the Cardinalidae and was first described by Wilson in 1811. Its adult plumage is marked by a pale, stout pointed bill and light wing bars, with males showing a red face and yellow nape, shoulder and rump, and females having a yellow head with an olive back. It nests in coniferous or mixed woodland and also occurs in disturbed habitats.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Cardinalidae — Cardinals & Allies

Breeding range

North America: w, c Canada through w USA to extreme nw Mexico

Nonbreeding range

w MA