Our two Tanagers

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two tanagers that we catch here at Kiptopeke. The bird of the left is a Scarlet Tanager while the bird on the right is a Summer. The two birds are often very similar in appearance but there are a few clues to help separate out the two. Although these are not the best of pictures, you can see that the Scarlet has a much smaller bill that the Summer. Also note the overall color difference. Scarlets usually have a darker wing than Summers and the quickest way to separate the two (and come handy in the field) is the underwing coloration! Scarlets have white underwing feathers, while Summers are a yellow color. So if you have a decent look at a fly over, you can separate out the two! Pretty cool eh?
We really don't catch many tanagers here at Kiptopeke. We average less than five for each species here. Both of these birds were caught this fall, with the Scarlet coming this past week. Maybe someday, we will catch a Western here but odds are always stacked against us.