Tanager?


(Iowa south of Amana)

We have 5 small birds smaller than a sparrow, the body is Gray and Brown on the back and wings but has red tints in it, the stomach is bright red (close to cardinal color - not Robin color). If I was rating it I'd say the bird was half red and 1/2 brown gray. No top notch like a cardinal. Head reminds me of a Chickadee but I'd say their size is larger than a Chickadee. Don't know what else to tell you, except since they've been around last summer and this spring we've had a lot of beautiful bird singing we've also had Cardinals too.

Comments for Tanager?

Click here to add your own comments

Apr 22, 2015
 Replying about your Tanager Question
by: Laura Hess

Hi there. I don't think it's a Tanager. It sounds like a House Finch to me. Only the males have the red on them,the females look the same otherwise. They're mostly monogamous, so within the group you'll very often see the same male/female pairs.Like anything with color, some males have more and/or brighter red on him. Look up House Finches and see if that's what you've seen. Hope this helps! :-)

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to What Is This Bird?.



Coming Soon

Recent Articles

RSS

  1. Small perching bird with red/rust breast

    Apr 18, 18 11:42 PM

    The bird I saw perched on a bush branch, facing the walking path is small to very small. Whitish gray belly with pronounced u-shaped reddish breast. I

    Read More

  2. a regular bird at my hummingbird feeder

    Apr 18, 18 11:42 PM

    I live in deep South Louisiana, approximately 65 miles Southwest of New Orleans, literally with Bayous in our back yard. I was so surprised to look out

    Read More

  3. Back yard birder

    Apr 17, 18 11:04 AM

    I have identified the yellow shafted flicker in my backyard . We have several of them feeding on the lawn. It looks like they are pulling out grubs.

    Read More