from the January 30,
2011 Newsletter issued from Hacienda Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central
Yucatán, MÉXICO
MALE SUMMER TANAGER
Summer Tanagers, present in most US southern states during the summer, are common winter
residents here. Saturday a bright male landed in the birdbath next to a molting male
Indigo Bunting. The tanager carried a grub in his beak and his wing appeared to have lost
a few feathers, and some fluffy down feathers showed up as a white splotch on his side, as
if an attack had pulled them out of place. This bird seemed to have a story to tell, but
all I knew for sure was that he wanted to take a bath after swallowing his grub. That's
him above.
from the September 29, 2008
Newsletter issued from near Sabacché, central Yucatán, MÉXICO
A FRIENDLY SUMMER TANAGER
Much fewer migrant birds have arrived for the winter than I was
expecting. However, Friday morning when a certain drably colored bird appeared in branches
close above me and displayed much more curiosity about my presence than the native
slingshot-wary population, I figured I had a visitor from up North. And it was true: As
soon as the bird filled my camera's viewfinder I saw that it was either a female or
immature Summer Tanager, as shown below.
Actually, I wasn't sure which tanager it was until I studied my
Howell's A Guide to The Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, especially
the distribution maps. Then I saw that Summer Tanagers overwinter here, Scarlet Tanagers
only pass through on their way to South America, and Hepatic and Western Tanagers don't
normally occur here. My friendly visitor was more golden brown than yellow-green, so that
made it a Summer, not a Scarlet. Also its beak was more massive than the Scarlet's.
Surely this bird had grown accustomed to humans up North, for its
curiosity and willingness to show itself was remarkable. What a world it would be if all
animals felt they could trust humans -- and really could -- and came to accompany us on
our walks the way this one did me for several minutes. |
