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Birds storiesBreeding and NestingPhotography

Two tanagers talk up a storm: So what are they saying?

by Anders Gyllenhaal October 15, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The male Summer Tanager. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

It takes some time and luck to spot the Summer Tanager, since these birds spend much of their time hidden away from view, at the very top of the canopy.

But when you do get to see one, even if it’s just a glimpse, the sight stays with you like artwork.

The male tanager is the only completely red bird in North America, which makes it a striking sight against the green of the trees where it hangs out. And the female is a pale yellow with greenish tints that creates a sharp contrast when the two are side by side.

The female tanager chattered almost nonstop this morning.

We had the great fortune of camping just beneath a pair of Summer Tanagers not long ago in central Tennessee outside Nashville. Once we figured out their favorite spots, and they got used to us, we were treated to a full study of how these two birds relate, communicate, sometimes seem to argue and take care of one another.

Here’s a video that gets almost all of that across, as the two Summer Tanagers chatter back and forth across the canopy:

We can’t know exactly what they’re going on about in this video, but new research says birds have a far wider range of exchanges than once thought. They could be discussing their nesting needs, or letting each other know where the other is, or she could be asking for something more to eat as she guards the nest. They could even be in the midst of an argument. 

A fascinating new book by Jennifer Ackerman, The Bird Way, A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think, says birds have a rich social life. She says the language of birds can be complicated, emotional, and has its own syntax. This book suggests that birds will even lie at times, implying a level of sophistication far beyond what we always thought.

In the encounters we watched, the female was the more vocal, delivering long complicated songs that had her jumping around her perch and raising and lowering her head. The male answered mostly in single chirps that surely looked like he was going along with what he was hearing.

Birdsongs are primarily about mating and defending territory, but exchanges like this one that seem more like household conversations are part of the repertoire as well. The Cornell Lab’s Handbook of Bird Biology, the bible of bird life, says bird pairs of all kinds are constantly seen singing duets, chatting back and forth and sometimes simply working on their relationships by staying in close touch.

The handbook points out that until recently, researchers studying birdsongs had only their ears to rely on. Now, a whole set of sophisticated listening and digital recording tools are helping to analyze bird communication. We may soon know a lot more about what birds like the tanagers are up to.

Our two tanagers also spent a lot of their day looking for food.

They feed on all manner of insects — bees, wasps, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, ants and termites – along with fruit, citrus and weeds. They’ll catch insects in midair and bring them back to a branch to consume. The female builds the nest up in the canopy, but the two work together, with the male accompanying her as she goes.

The male tanager has just snagged a dragonfly and is working on finishing it off.

The tanager has a series of whistling songs, not unlike the American Robin. Here are some samples.

Tanager pairs are monogamous during their mating, but only for one season. So these two will go separate ways when they migrate south sometime this month.

The female collects materials for their nest.

The Summer Tanager is found all across the southern half of the U.S. and spends the winter in Central America and northern parts of South America. Here’s an animation of their travels through the year from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, showing them headed out in October to go south:

 

 

October 15, 2020 0 comment
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Grasshopper Sparrow

Here are links to some of the deeper stories we’ve written for publications from the Washington Post to The Miami Herald exploring the frontiers of birding and avian research. This story for the Post was about the role of every-day birders in creating the largest citizen science project in the world. This piece for The Herald looked at the surprising strength of the Roseate Spoonbill in the midst of climate change. And this article and video for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer is about how some adventurous hummingbirds are abandoning their migration and staying the winter in the U.S. Our latest story in the Washington Post is about a rescue mission for the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 

Miami Herald’s Spoonbill package

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Barred Owl Orlando, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
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Hairy Woodpecker Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Prairie Warbler Cape May, New Jersey
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Eastern Wood-Peewee Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
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Eastern Meadowlark Kissimmee, Florida
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Black-throated Blue Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
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Quotes for the birds

“The radical otherness of birds is integral to their beauty and their value. They are always among us but never of us. They’re the other world-dominating animals that evolution has produced, and their indifference to us ought to serve as a chastening reminder that we’re not the measure of all things.”

— Jonathan Franzen, novelist and renown birder from his National Geographic Magazine essay on the “Year of the Bird.”

Comments, Suggestions & Quips:

On How Birds Teach Humility:

–“NOB. Love it! Great little truths in this post.” – Chara Daum

— “Appreciate your insights, Beverly.” -Ruth Harrell

— “Loving your Flying Lessons blog.” -Susan May, San Francisco

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“That is totally cool,” Tony Mas, Dahlonega, Ga.

“This brought a smile to us. Thanks.” John Deen, St. Paul, MN.

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On the Mandarin duck’s arrival in Central Park:

— “I think he gets his own Saturday morning now.” -Stephen Colby, Raleigh, N.C.

— “What a beautiful bird. Its colors look painted on. Magnificent.” -Christine DiMattei

On the falling numbers of Wild Turkeys:

“I was just mentioning this to a friend, how I used to see Wild Turkeys every time I hit a dirt road, and now it’s almost rare.” -Jeff Brooks.

“There are a hundred times more turkeys than when I was a kid. Fake BS to shake down donations and public funding.” -Vance Shearer

 

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Flying Lessons
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