A very pretty bird that can be found around this Concho Valley of west Texas is the Summer Tanager. They are not in great numbers, but when you see one you will not forget it. The photos below were taken near Christoval, Texas about 20 miles south of San Angelo.
I love the differences between the sexes. The male is the bright red and the female is a bright yellow. The juvenile is what you expect, a mixture of both. I hope you enjoy these images. Click on either one to see an enlargement.
Summer Tanager – male
Summer Tanager – juvenile
Summer Tanager – female
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
Your photos are outstanding! I’ve just learned about the Summer Tanager this year and of course, I fell in love. What a beautiful bird!
Thank you for your kind words, and for visiting my blog. I hope you will return. 🙂
What a very cool species coloring! Thanks for sharing all three at once, Bob, beautiful.
You are indeed welcome, Donna, I appreciate your kind words. 🙂
Great photos bob, and i love the natural history story as well, MJ
Thanks, MJ.
Wish we had those birds in our area. Theyre beautiful, and your shots show them off well.
Thank you very much, Jim. Nice to hear from you again.
Gorgeous!! I actually had one of these at my feeders a couple of years ago. They are not normally in this area of S.E. Michigan. I took several photos and a gentleman my husband works with is very involved in the Audobon society in this area, so we shared the photos with him. I sure did enjoy my rare visitor for the few days I got to see him. They are so pretty! Thanks again for the awesome photos, Bob!
Thank you so much, Amy, for your generous comment. I certainly appreciate it.
What gorgeous birds, and great photos! Intriguing that the female is such a different colour. Do the juvenile females also have the red plumage on the top part, before changing to pure yellow, I wonder?
Thank you, Jo. In answer to your question, I believe only the male juvie has the red plumage on the head.
Wow – they are so pretty! Amazing that the juvenile is a bright mix of the two colors. Great photos, Bob!
Thanks, Karen. I appreciate you commenting.
Haven’t seen these here and am surprised they are regulars. Spectacular color differences between the sexes. Wonder where I might spot them down here. Hm.
This is one bird that the male does not outdo the colors between the two sexes. You may have already seen one, as at a distant glimpse, they can be mistaken for a cardinal. Thanks for the comment, Shannon. They can be found in wooded areas around here.
Well, now that I know, I will look more closely at red birds from now on!
No female here but they sure are pretty, probably even more brilliant in real life. We get the WesternTanagers here and a photograph doesn’t do them justice. They sound nice, too.
I agree, Jane, all of the tanagers are pretty in my opinion.
We love seeing these shy birds in our Ozarks woods – so beautiful – the male is the ‘red bird’ of my grandmother’s youth in S E Arkansas not the cardinal – were more plentiful then. Wonderful photos, Bob. K
Thank you so much, for your comment, Kathleen. I appreciate your thoughts.
Beautiful birds! Nice catch. I’ve never seen a juvenile before.
Thank you very much, Dina. Thank you for visiting and I hope you will return.
You’re right, Bob. These guys are way cool. The juvenile is really neat.
Thanks, Toby. I pressed publish prematurely, so you may not have gotten the version with the yellow female.