"  Western Tanager  "

Western Tanager Photo on Canvas. Also available as a Print in any size, as well as Posters and Post Cards

          The Western Tanager breeds farther north than any other member of its mostly tropical family, breeding to nearly 60°N in the Northwest Territories. The red pigment in the face of the Western Tanager is rhodoxanthin, a pigment rare in birds. It is not manufactured by the bird, as are the pigments used by the other red tanagers. Instead, it must be acquired from the diet, presumably from insects that themselves acquire the pigment from plants.