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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

-Cardinals and Allies (Family Cardinalidae)

-Northern Tanagers (Genus Piranga)

-Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)


The adult male has brilliant red head, bright yellow body, with black back, wings, and tail. 2 wing bars; smaller uppermost bar yellow, lower one white. Female is yellow-green above, yellow below; wing bars similar to male's. Feeds on insects, often like a flycatcher, from the high canopy. It also feeds on berries and other small fruits. The red pigment in the face is not produced by the bird but is acquired through their diet of insects that themselves acquire it from plants. Both parents feed and tend the young, which leave the nest after about 11 days, but stay close to the parents for about two more weeks.

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Diet

  • Primarily insects, including beetles, caterpillars, ants, bees, wasps, flies, and other flying insects.

  • Also feeds on berries, cherries, elderberries, mulberries, figs, and other small fruits, especially during migration and winter.

  • Forages mainly in the middle and upper canopy, gleaning insects from foliage or making short aerial sallies.

Range

  • Breeds throughout western Canada, the western United States, and the mountains of northern Mexico.

  • Winters from western and southern Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica.

  • A common winter visitor to the Zihuatanejo region, where it inhabits tropical dry forests, woodland edges, pine-oak forests, second-growth, gardens, and shaded plantations.

  • Most frequently observed from October through April.

Male / Female

  • Male: Bright yellow body, brilliant red-orange head, black back, wings, and tail with bold white wing bars, and a stout pale bill.

  • Female: Olive-yellow upperparts and yellow underparts with darker olive wings and two pale wing bars; lacks the male's red head and black back.

  • Immature males: Show a mixture of female-like olive plumage and patches of red and black as they mature.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished by their strikingly different plumage.

Size

  • Length: 16–19 cm (6.3–7.5 in)

  • Wingspan: 29–31 cm (11.4–12.2 in)

  • Weight: 24–36 g (0.8–1.3 oz)

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