The scarlet tanager is a brightly colored songbird native to North America. With its brilliant red body and black wings, the scarlet tanager is unmistakable during the spring and summer months when it breeds across the eastern United States and Canada. But despite its flashy plumage, the scarlet tanager can actually be quite elusive to spot in the wild. So just how rare is it to catch a glimpse of this vivid songbird?
Range and Population of the Scarlet Tanager
The scarlet tanager has a large range across eastern North America. Its breeding range stretches west from Nova Scotia to South Dakota, and south to northern Georgia and northeastern Texas. The tanager migrates to wintering grounds in South America, primarily in the Amazon basin. Its total global population is estimated at 20 million birds.
Within its widespread range, the scarlet tanager can be found in mature deciduous and mixed forests during the breeding season. It favors interior forest habitat far from forest edges. Tanagers are most abundant in large, unfragmented tracts of forest in the Appalachian region and other major forested areas like the Ozarks and Adirondacks.
Breeding Range Map
Here is a map showing the scarlet tanager’s breeding range across the eastern United States and Canada:
The scarlet tanager’s core breeding areas are centered in the Appalachian region from Georgia to New York, as well as forested areas around the Great Lakes. The edges of its range extend to the Coastal Plain and Piedmont forests of the southeast, the deciduous forests of the Midwest, and the boreal forests of Canada.
Estimated Global Population
Scientists estimate the total global population of scarlet tanagers to be about 20 million individuals. The North American Breeding Bird Survey provides more detailed data on breeding populations in the United States and Canada:
Region | Estimated Population |
---|---|
Eastern United States | 11 million |
Central United States | 1.5 million |
Canada | 4 million |
Total | 16.5 million |
Though scarlet tanager populations appear to be stable across much of their breeding range, they face threats from habitat loss and fragmentation in both their breeding and wintering ranges.
Habitat Preferences and Behavior
The scarlet tanager is considered an “interior forest species,” meaning it favors deep woods over edge habitat. During the breeding season, tanagers seek out mature deciduous forests and mixed conifer-deciduous forests with a closed canopy. They are most abundant in large, contiguous forest tracts over 25 acres.
Within these interior forest habitats, scarlet tanagers prefer taller trees for foraging and nesting. They feed on insects high in the forest canopy, and build open cup nests on horizontal branches well above the ground. Tanagers are drawn to forest areas with little understory vegetation, allowing them to freely move about the canopy.
The scarlet tanager’s skittish, elusive nature also contributes to its rarity. Tanagers will flee at the slightest disturbance, darting away rapidly even if a human observer is quite distant. Their nests are well-concealed, making the birds hard to spy upon even in appropriate habitat.
Typical Scarlet Tanager Habitats
Forest Type | Canopy Cover | Tree Size | Understory |
---|---|---|---|
Mature oak-hickory | Closed | Tall mature trees | Open |
Northern hardwood | Closed | Mature canopy trees | Open |
Hemlock-white pine | Closed | Tall conifers and hardwoods | Open |
As this table shows, the scarlet tanager strongly prefers mature, closed-canopy forests with tall, older trees and little undergrowth. These conditions are most often found in older, undisturbed forest tracts.
Behavior Summary
- Skittish and wary
- Seeks deep forest interiors
- Flushes rapidly when disturbed
- Conceals nests well
- Prefers to forage high in canopy
The tanager’s shy, secretive habits make it challenging to observe even where habitat conditions are ideal. The bird’s tendency to stay high in the canopy and flee quickly frustrates many bird watchers.
Best Places to See Scarlet Tanagers
While scarlet tanagers can be found across their eastern breeding range wherever large forests exist, several locations stand out as top spots for sightings when the birds are most active in spring and summer:
The Appalachian Mountains
The tanager’s core populations breed across the Appalachian region from Georgia to New York. Large tracts of mature oak-hickory forest througout these mountains provide ideal habitat. Top birding locations include:
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Allegheny National Forest
- Monongahela National Forest
The Adirondack Mountains
New York’s Adirondack Park contains some of the most untouched boreal and northern hardwood forest habitat in the Northeast, drawing breeding tanagers. Prime areas to spot them here include:
- Saint Regis Canoe Area
- High Peaks Wilderness
- West Canada Lake Wilderness
The Ozark Mountains
Tanager numbers are high in Arkansas and Missouri’s Ozark National Forest. Birders have success finding them along hiking trails through oak-hickory forests such as:
- Buffalo National River
- Piney Creek Trail
- Lost Valley Trail
The Boundary Waters
Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness encompasses over 1 million acres of pristine northern forest with breeding tanagers. Tracts of mature aspen, birch, and conifers harbor the birds here.
Baxter State Park, Maine
Maine’s largest wilderness park contains nearly 300,000 acres of forest, including prime spruce-fir habitat for tanagers near the mountainous north end of the park.
In these locations and other large, protected forests, scarlet tanagers reach their highest densities and can be found more reliably each summer. However, patience and sharp eyes are still needed to spot one of these shy songbirds!
Scarlet Tanager Sightings Over Time
Data from citizen science databases tracks scarlet tanager sightings over the decades, helping reveal trends in abundance over time. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird database shows sightings per party hour reported by birders since 2002:
Year | Scarlet Tanager Sightings Per Party Hour |
---|---|
2002 | 0.09 |
2003 | 0.11 |
2004 | 0.10 |
2005 | 0.12 |
2006 | 0.11 |
2007 | 0.13 |
2008 | 0.14 |
2009 | 0.13 |
2010 | 0.11 |
2011 | 0.12 |
2012 | 0.11 |
2013 | 0.10 |
2014 | 0.12 |
2015 | 0.11 |
2016 | 0.10 |
2017 | 0.13 |
2018 | 0.11 |
2019 | 0.12 |
2020 | 0.11 |
2021 | 0.09 |
Over the past 20 years, eBird data shows scarlet tanager sightings holding relatively steady, fluctuating between 0.09 to 0.14 birds per party hour. This indicates the tanager population has remained fairly stable recently within its core forested breeding areas in North America.
Historic data from the Breeding Bird Survey shows a 38% increase in scarlet tanagers from 1966 to 2015 across their U.S. and Canadian range. While the population saw declines in the early 20th century due to deforestation, tanager numbers rebounded across much of their range thanks to forest regrowth and conservation measures.
Threats and Conservation
While scarlet tanager populations remain resilient across most of their current breeding range, they still face threats from habitat loss and degradation:
- Forest fragmentation – Breaking up of large forest tracts into smaller patches isolates tanager populations.
- Forest disturbance – Logging, road construction, energy development, and recreation alter habitat structure.
- Nest parasitism – Tanagers are common hosts of brown-headed cowbird nest parasites.
- Climate change – Could alter forest composition in southern portion of breeding range.
Conservation measures like protecting public forestland from excessive logging and development remain important for scarlet tanagers. While they can adapt to some habitat changes, they strongly prefer undisturbed mature forests.
Efforts to conserve scarlet tanager wintering habitat in South America are also gaining increased focus, as destruction of Amazonian rainforests poses the biggest long-term threat to the species.
Conservation Status
Organization | Status |
---|---|
IUCN Red List | Least Concern |
ESA | Not Listed |
Currently, the scarlet tanager has a protected status and is not considered threatened or endangered by leading conservation groups. But continued habitat monitoring and protection efforts are needed to maintain healthy populations.
Conclusion
Spotting a scarlet tanager in the wild remains an uncommon and memorable experience for birders. Even within the large forests they inhabit, the tanager’s elusive nature and preference for canopy cover make sightings a special treat.
By seeking out prime habitat in large protected areas during spring and summer, and using patience and sharp hearing, bird watchers can improve their chances of observing one of these shy woodland jewels. While never guaranteed, the effort pays off when a flash of crimson wings emerges high in the forest interior.