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Western
Tanager Piranga ludoviciana Length 7 ¼ “ wingspan 11 ½ “ weight .98 ounces |
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The western tanager is one of the most colorful and beautiful birds in the Pacific Northwest. The male's yellow and black body and bright orange head make it easy to identify as it flits through the tops of pine and fir trees. Females are a duller yellow and black, and both males and females are dull olive green and yellow in winter. Western tanagers consume a wide variety of insects which they eat off
of leaves and branches and sometimes out of the air in mid-flight. They
also like to eat some fruit and will occasionally visit feeders to eat
citrus fruits. Females build loose nests of conifer twigs on the horizontal
branches of pine and fir trees and usually produce only one batch of
three to five bluish-green eggs each year. Western tanagers are neo-tropical
migrants who winter in Mexico and Costa Rica. They arrive in the forests
around Leavenworth sometime in late May or early June and some begin
to head south as early as July.
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![]() Photo - Fish & Wildlife |
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This
bird is sponsored by Der Sportsmann On Front Street in downtown Leavenworth Phone 509-548-5623 |
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