Appropriately named, I have had a summer tanager visiting me the past few weeks. He mainly stays high in the American beech that towers over my back deck. I hear his raspy "picky...tucky......tuck" song routinely but rarely see him.
That's a shame.
Once known as the "Summer Redbird" as opposed to the year-round redbird, the Northern cardinal, they are long distance migrants that will leave in a few weeks to return to Central and South America. Now, my scarlet visitor is just putting on weight and molting before his long flight. He eats berries and insects and is noted for taking bees and wasps, which led to another long ago sobriquet, "Bee Bird."
Neat niche. We wish him well.
Another highlight of summer is perchance getting to see a juvenile male summer tanager. Take a look at this photo by Priscilla Burcher, click: molting into adulthood.
That's a shame.
Once known as the "Summer Redbird" as opposed to the year-round redbird, the Northern cardinal, they are long distance migrants that will leave in a few weeks to return to Central and South America. Now, my scarlet visitor is just putting on weight and molting before his long flight. He eats berries and insects and is noted for taking bees and wasps, which led to another long ago sobriquet, "Bee Bird."
Neat niche. We wish him well.
Another highlight of summer is perchance getting to see a juvenile male summer tanager. Take a look at this photo by Priscilla Burcher, click: molting into adulthood.
•
No comments:
Post a Comment