Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager
Photo credit: Jimmy Jackson
-Piranga olivacea-

Male is bright red and black in breeding plumage and molts to yellow green in winter. Present in Texas during April-May and again in September during migrations. Winters in South America and breeds in deciduous forests of Eastern North America. Subsists primarily on insects and is an enormous benefit to woodlands and orchards by consuming vast numbers of gypsy moths and tent caterpillars.