summer tanager

[ suhm-er tan-uh-jer ]

noun

1. an American songbird, Piranga rubra, the male of which is bright red: recently classified as a member of the cardinal family rather than the tanager family, the summer tanager breeds in the southern and central United States and migrates as far south as northern South America.

Word History and Origins

Origin of summer tanager¹

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85