The summer tanager is a medium-sized songbird that breeds in the southeastern United States and winters in southern Florida, Mexico, and parts of Central America. In this article, we will explore the summer tanager’s breeding and wintering ranges, its preferred habitats, and other details about where this brightly colored bird makes its home.
Breeding Range
The summer tanager has a breeding range that extends across the southeastern United States. Its range reaches:
- As far north as Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, and New Jersey
- As far west as eastern Texas and Oklahoma
- As far south as the Gulf Coast and Florida
Within this broad region, the summer tanager’s breeding habitat tends to be associated with mature, open deciduous forests and forest edges. Some key areas where summer tanager breeding populations are concentrated include:
- The Ozark Mountains in Missouri and Arkansas
- The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma
- The Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas
- The bottomland forests along the Mississippi River and its major tributaries
- Scrub habitat in central Florida
Preferred Breeding Habitats
In particular, summer tanagers favor a few specific types of mature deciduous habitats for breeding:
- Oak-hickory forests – Broad expanses of oak, hickory, and other deciduous trees are ideal habitat.
- Riparian woodlands – Forested areas along creeks and rivers provide good habitat.
- Open wooded wetlands – Swampy woods interspersed with open areas make good habitat.
- Pine-oak woodlands – Open stands of pines mixed with oaks and other deciduous trees are favored.
- Forest edges and gaps – Edges between forests and open areas provide ideal habitat.
The summer tanager tends to avoid densely forested areas in favor of more open, sunny woodlands. The availability of large, mature trees for nesting along with openings for foraging make oak-hickory forests ideal habitat across much of the summer tanager’s breeding range.
Wintering Range
During the winter months from September to April, the summer tanager migrates to the tropical and subtropical zones of the Americas. Its winter range centers on:
- Southern Florida
- The Yucatan Peninsula
- Coastal areas of Mexico
- Central America from Guatemala to Panama
- Northern regions of South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas
Winter Habitats
The summer tanager’s preferred wintering habitats closely match its breeding habitats. It favors open, semi-open, and selectively logged forests, including:
- Tropical oak forests – Broadleaf oak and oak-conifer forests are ideal habitat.
- Mangrove forests – Mangrove swamps along the coasts provide shelter.
- Tropical scrub – Open scrublands offer ample foraging.
- Forest edges – As in its breeding range, the winter tanager favors habitat edges.
- Pine-oak association – Open pine-oak woodlands are prime habitat.
In particular, broadleaf evergreen forests seem to be favored over dense tropical rainforests. The summer tanager is often observed in shade-grown coffee plantations and selectively logged areas during the winter months.
Migration Routes
The summer tanager undertakes a long distance migration twice per year between its breeding and wintering grounds. Its migration routes include:
- A loop through Florida, Cuba, and the Yucatan to reach northern South America
- A direct crossing of the Gulf of Mexico from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Yucatan and beyond
- A largely overland route through Mexico and Central America
Not all summer tanagers follow the same route. Individual birds may take different pathways on northbound and southbound migrations in the spring and fall. Their routes often depend on weather patterns in a given year.
Major stopover and staging sites during migration include:
- South Florida
- Cuba
- The Yucatan Peninsula
- Coastal Mexico
- The Caribbean coast of Central America
At these stopovers, the summer tanager refuels on fruit and insects in preparation for trans-Gulf crossings or overland flights through Mexico and Central America. The broadleaf forests of the Yucatan Peninsula and adjacent areas appear to be particularly important for migrating summer tanagers.
Year-Round Range
Interestingly, small numbers of summer tanagers overwinter within their core breeding range, mostly in the southernmost parts of the southeastern U.S. These include:
- Coastal South Carolina
- Southern Georgia
- Southern Alabama
- The Florida panhandle
- Southern Mississippi
- Southern Louisiana
- Coastal Texas
In these areas, winter temperatures usually remain mild enough for the tanagers to overwinter. They stick to the warmest microclimates in swampy, boggy areas and evergreen oak forests.
A tiny population has also become year-round residents of northern California’s oak woodlands, apparently taking advantage of the mild Pacific coastal climate.
So in summary, the summer tanager can be found year-round in small parts of the extreme southeastern U.S. as well as coastal central California. But otherwise, it migrates between the southeastern U.S. and southern Florida in the summer months, and Mexico, Central America, and northern South America in the winter months.
Threats to Habitat
Although still common, summer tanager numbers have declined over the last few decades primarily due to loss of habitat. Some major threats include:
- Forest fragmentation – Breaking up of contiguous mature forests into smaller, disconnected patches.
- Urbanization – Loss of habitat to housing and other development.
- Agriculture – Conversion of forests to cropland.
- Wetland drainage – Draining swamps to convert them to other uses.
All of these factors have led to less prime forest habitat for the summer tanager. Conservation of remaining mature forests throughout its range is key to maintaining healthy populations. Safeguarding key wintering habitats in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America is also important to ensure the tanager has sufficient wintering range. Ongoing conservation efforts aim to set aside protected forest reserves and promote more tanager-friendly forestry practices.
Interesting Facts About the Summer Tanager’s Range
- Summer tanagers hybridize with scarlet tanagers in narrow overlap zones between their ranges.
- They are occasionally spotted as vagrants far outside their normal range, even as far north as Canada.
- Banding studies show summer tanagers often return to the exact same wintering sites each year.
- Their winter territory size averages around 2.5 acres but can reach up to 10 acres.
- Some summer tanagers migrate in small family groups, suggesting they may remain together after breeding.
Conclusion
In summary, the summer tanager is a neotropical migratory bird that breeds in mature, open deciduous forests across the southeastern United States. It migrates through the Caribbean to winter primarily in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Small numbers overwinter in the extreme southern parts of the southeastern U.S. Loss of breeding habitat is the biggest threat to summer tanager populations. Protecting remaining mature forests throughout its range is crucial for conserving this brightly colored songbird. Understanding its habitat needs and geographic movements provides insights to better protect the summer tanager.