tanager

[tan-uh-jer]

noun

1. Also called true tanager. any of numerous small New World songbirds of the family Thraupidae (tanager family), the males of which are usually brightly colored, including the multicolored green-headed tanager , Tangara seledon, of South America.

2. cardinal.

tanager

/ ˈtænədʒə /

noun

1. any American songbird of the family Thraupidae, having a short thick bill and a brilliantly coloured male plumage

Word History and Origins

Origin of tanager¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin tanagra, metathetic variant of Tupi tangara

Word History and Origins

Origin of tanager¹

C19: from New Latin tanagra, based on Tupi tangara

Example Sentences

News of the arrival of the scarlet tanager - more usually found in the forests of North America - broke last weekend, sending birdwatchers into a state of excitement.

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The scarlet tanager is Mr Nash's 435th species spotted in Britain.

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The landscape may look desolate and unforgiving to an outsider — a setting where Chuckwalla lizards, cactus wrens and western tanagers thrive — but for the Cahuilla it is a paradise.

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Exactly why the area attracts as many as 13,000 tanagers, orioles, buntings, grosbeaks and warblers on a single day is not entirely understood.

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“It’s from a scarlet tanager. Tia Rosario found it in the Dominican Republic and just brought it back for me. Isn’t it beautiful?”

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