Scarlet Tanager Similar Species Comparison
Similar Species
Summer Tanager
Adult male
Adult male Summer Tanagers are entirely red, without the black wings and tail of adult male Scarlet Tanagers.
© Alex Burdo | Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 16, 2016Similar Species
Summer Tanager
Female
Female Summer Tanagers are yellow overall and do not have darker wings like female/nonbreeding male Scarlet Tanagers.
© Heather Pickard | Macaulay LibraryHeredia, February 16, 2008Similar Species
Western Tanager
Adult male
Adult male Western Tanagers have yellow underparts while Scarlet Tanagers have red underparts. Ranges rarely overlap: Western Tanagers breed in western North America and Scarlet Tanagers breed in eastern North America.
© Nick Saunders | Macaulay LibrarySaskatchewan, June 08, 2017Similar Species
Western Tanager
Female
Female Western Tanagers have 2 wingbars whereas female/nonbreeding male Scarlet Tanagers have unmarked dark wings. Ranges rarely overlap: Western Tanagers breed in western North America and Scarlet Tanagers breed in eastern North America.
© Arlene Ripley | Macaulay LibraryArizona, July 16, 2017Similar Species
Northern Cardinal
Male
Northern Cardinals do not have the black wings or the black tail seen on breeding male Scarlet Tanagers.
© Alix d'Entremont | Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, May 02, 2017Main Species
Scarlet Tanager
Breeding male
Stocky songbird with a thick blunt-tipped bill. Breeding males are unmistakable with bright red bodies and black wings and tails.
© Ryan Sanderson | Macaulay LibraryIndiana, May 17, 2020Female
Medium-sized rather stocky songbird. Females/immatures are olive-yellow with darker wings and tails.
© Marieta Manolova | Macaulay LibraryOntario, May 13, 2015Breeding male
Song is a hurried series of rising and falling warbles with a burry tone.
© Benjamin Clock | Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 08, 2011Not all videos have sound
Nonbreeding male
Nonbreeding males look like females, but have darker black wings and tail.
© Dan Maxwell | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 16, 2015Breeding male
Chunky songbird with brilliant red plumage. Some males may have more orangish feathers on the back.
© Marieta Manolova | Macaulay LibraryOntario, May 13, 2015Breeding male
Some males have orangish feathers in the wing that could be leftover from molting into breeding plumage.
© Charmaine Anderson | Macaulay LibraryOntario, May 16, 2017Breeding male
Breeds in large tracts of deciduous and mixed deciduous-evergreen forests.
© Griffin Richards | Macaulay LibraryConnecticut, May 10, 2014Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Cardinalidae)
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