western tanager

American  

[wes-tern tan-uh-jer] / ˈwɛs tərn ˈtæn ə dʒər /

noun

1. an American songbird, Piranga ludoviciana, the male of which has a reddish orange head and a yellow neck: recently classified as a member of the cardinal family rather than the tanager family, the western tanager breeds in the western United States, from southern Alaska to the Mexican border, and migrates as far south as Costa Rica.

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Etymology

Origin of western tanager

An Americanism first recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The birds commonly noticed by visitors near Giant Forest are the blue fronted or stellar jay, western tanager, western robin, chickadee, junco, red-shafted flicker, white-headed woodpecker, several warblers, sparrows, and finches.

From Sequoia [California] National Park by United States. Dept. of the Interior