Summer Tanager
Piranga rubra
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyCardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)
- GenusPiranga (Piranga Tanagers)
- SpeciesPiranga rubra (Summer Tanager)
About the Summer Tanager
The summer tanager (Piranga rubra) is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
The summer tanager was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla rubra. Linnaeus based his description on the "summer red-bird" described and illustrated by Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published in 1729–1732. Catesby gave the location as Carolina, Linnaeus specified America; the type location is now South Carolina. The summer tanager is the type species of the genus Piranga that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1808. The genus name Piranga is from Tupi Tijepiranga, the name for an unknown small bird; the specific rubra is from Latin ruber meaning "red".
Two subspecies are recognised: Adults have stout, pointed bills and measure 17 cm (6.7 in) in length... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park
Rose-throated Tanager
Piranga roseogularis
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
Habia rubica
Gray-throated Chat
Granatellus sallaei
Blue Bunting
Cyanocompsa parellina
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Black-faced Grosbeak
Caryothraustes poliogaster
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
Painted Bunting
Passerina ciris
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
Blue-black Grosbeak
Cyanocompsa cyanoides
Dickcissel
Spiza americana
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Summer Tanager in Tikal National Park?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Summer Tanager sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 918 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Summer Tanager in Tikal National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Summer Tanager in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.