Overview
The Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) is an incandescent, flame-colored songbird celebrated as the only completely red bird in North America (lacking the black wings of the Scarlet Tanager and the crest of the Northern Cardinal). High in the forest canopy, this charismatic aerial acrobat operates as a specialized wasp-and-bee hunter, fearlessly plucking stinging wasps out of mid-air and beating them against tree branches to scrape off their stingers before swallowing.
Biology and Physical Characteristics
Piranga rubra possesses a long, sturdy, pale yellowish-ivory horn-colored bill that is heavy and slightly swollen, ideally adapted for grabbing thick-bodied flying insects. Adult males are entirely clad in glowing, rich rose-red plumage that glows brilliantly against green forest leaves. Females and first-year males are clothed in rich mustard-yellow to warm olive-yellow plumage, occasionally displaying mottled reddish patches as they mature.
Behavior and Ecology
A stealthy canopy sally-gleaner, the Summer Tanager sits motionless on high forest perches before launching into explosive aerial pursuit flights to catch cicadas, flying beetles, and hornet queens. When attacking paper wasp nests, it perches nearby, catches guarding adult wasps one by one, slams them repeatedly against tree bark to rub off the venomous sting and venom sacs, and then tears open the paper nest to feast on succulent wasp grubs.
Conservation and Human Impact
Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, the Summer Tanager maintains healthy, stable breeding populations throughout the southern United States. However, it is reliant on mature hardwood riparian corridors in the arid Southwest, where river damming and invasive saltcedar replacement of native cottonwoods have spurred riparian restoration initiatives.
Interesting Factoid
The Summer Tanager is nature’s fearless bee and wasp exterminator: after catching a live hornet in mid-air, it whacks the stinging insect violently against a branch to break off the stinger and wipe away the venom before gulping it down whole.