A Scarlet's Journey

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches

The paragraph below is from “The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America” by Matt Kracht, a book that pokes fun at birds, often with edgy, disparaging and colorful language that is meant to be humorous. 

Scarlet Teenager 
Common Name: Scarlet Tanager 

What is it with these tanagers? The males are possibly the most unnecessarily red birds in any eastern forest. They stay high in the forest canopy all summer long (doing god knows what) and then in the fall they just take off for South America. But not before inexplicably changing from red feathers to yellow-green feathers (which, by the way, makes them look just like the yellow-green females). I don’t know what they’re up to, but I don’t like it and somebody ought to do something about it.

My photo taken May 17, 2025, Moose Lake, MN. Note the yellow-green patch still on this bird's belly, remnants of its winter plumage. ©Becca Mulenburg

Stay wild, my friends!



Reference

Kracht, M. (2019). The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America. Chronicle Books.

__________

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Location: Duluth, MN 55811, USA

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