There are numerous birds that are with us only for the spring and summer months, including the swallows and several warblers that I’ve recently discussed. Today, I’d like to talk about three more birds that you can see at this time of year: grosbeaks, tanagers and buntings. All three of these species are what are known as neotropical migrants, songbirds that spend their winters in Mexico and Central America before heading north for the breeding season.
As with other tropical birds, these three species are more colorful than many permanent northerners: Male black-headed grosbeaks are black and dark orange; male western tanagers are a striking assemblage of black, yellow and vivid red on the face; and male lazuli buntings are a brilliant blue with an orange chest and white belly. Together, these three birds make up our main local representatives of the Cardinalidae family, a family most well known in the United States in the form of the famous northern cardinal of the eastern states. We don’t have cardinals, but we do have these three “cardinalids,” beautiful birds that add color and song to our summers.
Both grosbeaks and tanagers have songs that are highly reminiscent of the up-and-down, lilting song of the more common American robin, with some unique variations. I have heard the grosbeak described as sounding like a “robin who’s taken voice lessons,” with smoother and more dramatic swings in pitch. The western tanager, in contrast, has been described as a “.
