Piranga rubra
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The summer tanager (Piranga rubra) is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
The summer tanager was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla rubra. Linnaeus based his description on the "summer red-bird" described and illustrated by Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published in 1729–1732. Catesby gave the location as Carolina, Linnaeus specified America; the type location is now South Carolina. The summer tanager is the type species of the genus Piranga that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1808. The genus name Piranga is from Tupi Tijepiranga, the name for an unknown small bird; the specific rubra is from Latin ruber meaning "red".
Two subspecies are recognised: Adults have stout, pointed bills and measure 17 cm (6.7 in) in length... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 9 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 10 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Alameda Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Summer Tanager sighting in Ciénaga de Zapata on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 172nd most-seen of the 177 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Summer Tanager in Ciénaga de Zapata on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season. September has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Summer Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
76th of 81
Of the 81 parks where we can rate Summer Tanager sightings, Ciénaga de Zapata ranks 76th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 40%), Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Belize, about 40%) and Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Summer Tanager that you can see in Ciénaga de Zapata (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are American Redstart (about 60%), Palm Warbler (about 60%) and Greater Antillean Grackle (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Summer Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Ciénaga de Zapata (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
