Western Tanager Male photos by Larry Jordan
Western Tanagers are a summer visitor to Northern California where some may breed and others may simply be passing through. The male of the species is a striking bird with his tropical colors of bright yellow and a red-orange head. He is also distinguished by his wide yellow upper wing bar.
The female Western Tanager is olive on the back, and yellowish below with two narrow white wing bars.
These gorgeous birds hawk insects from the tree tops and will also eat fruit. They are a pleasure to watch as they grab insects in mid-air and fly back to their perch. Here is one more shot of this male scanning the sky for bugs.
Have a great birding weekend and go see more super sky photos at Skywatch Friday!
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What a set of great pictures of a pretty bird. I love the colours. Thanks for sharing.
Auduns last blog post..Skywatch Friday, May 8th 2009
That’s an absolutely beautiful bird and you have captured its colors perfectly Larry!
MaineBirders last blog post..Skywatch Friday: Winter Harbor Light
beautiful captures…so enjoyed each and every one. i am just starting to photograph birds and find them challenging 🙂
have a wonderful rest of the weekend.
Erins last blog post..Sky Watch Friday-Ponte Vecchio-Florence, Italy
Just beautiful. Most of the colourful birds in Australia are parrots and the like.
Colin Campbells last blog post..Chewin’ the Fat – Mile High Club