Episode 102: Scarlet Tanager – Voice of the Wild

Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) 

“chick-burr”

 

Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. 

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The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode: 

• Scarlet Tanager song by Wil Hershberger (ML509766) 
• Scarlet Tanager call by Wil Hershberger (ML509774) 
• Scarlet Tanager call by Randolph Little (ML509773) 
• Scarlet Tanager call + song by Wil Hershberger (ML509768) 

Sources and more: 

• Cornell’s All About Birds 
• Audubon 
• Field guide to hotspots and birds in Illinois by Colin Dobson 
• Audubon videoguide to 505 birds of North America 
• Peterson field guide to the birds (Fourth edition) 
• Sibley birds East 

What is Voice of the Wild?

If you learn to listen for them, you will find wildlife everywhere. Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. Tune in every Friday to learn a new bird song, frog call, or insect noise. Voice of the Wild is an AI-free podcast. Generative tools are not used to write, research, or edit any part of the show.

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

With a song that’s said to sound like an American robin with a sore throat, this singer is one of just a few birds who’s better known for their call. In this case; the “chick-burr” is diagnostic. You might think The male’s brilliant red plumage with contrasting black wings would make for an easy visual ID, but they tend to forage high in the canopy of lush forests, so that’s not always the case. This is the scarlet tanager.

Assuming you can get your eyes on a scarlet male, his black wings will differentiate him from the summer tanager male who is red from head to tail. The females are a different story; both the scarlet and summer females are a mustard yellow and the scarlet females don’t always have dark wings. A female tanager ID might require a close consultation with a bird guide, unless of course they call out chick burr.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW