Rare Sighting in the Backyard! Western Tanager

Western Tanager

Unbelievable to me: A rare sighting in my Orange, CA backyard, the Western Tanager flutters across my path for the second time.

My first sighting was in Yosemite about 8 years ago. Nieces in tow, hunting for bugs, birds, and plants, I spotted a Tanager in our campground just outside of Yosemite. It is one of the birds responsible for my, annoying to others, addiction.

FUN FACTS:

Breeds further north than any other member of its tropical family.

The red color on its face is rare in birds. The color is not manufactured by the Tanager, but rather from its diet of insects that eat plants with the pigment.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_tanager/id