Monday, May 17, 2010

Western Tanager

A bird that I think is a Western Tanager showed up in my back garden today, flitting from branch to branch while I tried to capture it from the window with the zoom on my camera. It finally landed very briefly beside my stream, and I took two quick pictures which, surprisingly, turned out in focus.



His face is not quite as bright orange as the picture in my bird book, but I think I'm correct.

According to my book, the Western Tanager is a Central and South American species that has expanded into Washington. Its colorful plumage does bring a touch of the tropics to the garden.