Summer Tanager
Summer Tanager has held roughly steady: down 2% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Summer Tanager
The Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) is a North American member of the Cardinals & Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 4.5–8.5 in long (12–22 cm) — a medium songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 1,494 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 31 states, most concentrated in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.
- Family
- Cardinalidae · Forest birds
Notable Summer Tanager Trends
No notable trend signals for Summer Tanager. See the full index history below.
Summer Tanager Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Summer Tanager is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 1.6 (95% range 1.2–2.0). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±17.7%, with 60% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| 2026 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| 2027 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| 2028 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| 2029 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 2.0 |
Where the Summer Tanager Is Detected
BBS routes recording Summer Tanager, sized by most recent count.
Summer Tanager Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +18% | 1968 | 107 |
| Arizona | +93% | 1970 | 25 |
| Arkansas | +80% | 1969 | 61 |
| California | -22% | 1982 | 6 |
| Delaware | 12× | 1973 | 13 |
| Florida | -29% | 1968 | 88 |
| Georgia | -13% | 1968 | 109 |
| Illinois | 29× | 1969 | 55 |
| Indiana | +27% | 1968 | 35 |
| Iowa | +21% | 2005 | 6 |
| Kansas | 16× | 1969 | 33 |
| Kentucky | -12% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +33% | 1969 | 84 |
| Maryland | +219% | 1968 | 45 |
| Mississippi | +59% | 1968 | 74 |
| Missouri | +122% | 1969 | 93 |
| Nebraska | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| New Jersey | +202% | 1987 | 13 |
| New Mexico | +144% | 1972 | 18 |
| North Carolina | +21% | 1968 | 93 |
| Ohio | -80% | 1968 | 41 |
| Oklahoma | +135% | 1969 | 51 |
| Pennsylvania | -53% | 1976 | 3 |
| South Carolina | -4% | 1968 | 51 |
| Tennessee | +36% | 1968 | 53 |
| Texas | +88% | 1969 | 163 |
| Utah | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Virginia | +42% | 1968 | 57 |
| West Virginia | -91% | 1968 | 46 |
| Wisconsin | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
Summer Tanager Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Great Basin | +24% | 1998 | 3 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | -63% | 1992 | 5 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -19% | 1989 | 6 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +511% | 1969 | 37 |
| Edwards Plateau | +279% | 1969 | 19 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +172% | 1969 | 64 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +736% | 1968 | 144 |
| Central Hardwoods | +33% | 1968 | 166 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | +40% | 1969 | 110 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +86% | 1968 | 66 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +21% | 1968 | 339 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -70% | 1968 | 173 |
| Piedmont | +72% | 1968 | 127 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +310% | 1968 | 76 |
| Peninsular Florida | -11% | 1968 | 44 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | +126% | 1982 | 9 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +14% | 1970 | 23 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | +186% | 1970 | 32 |
| Tamaulipan Brushlands | -27% | 1970 | 16 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +24% | 1969 | 27 |
Summer Tanager Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 2% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.