Tanagers - Tangaras

Tanagers are small to medium-sized songbirds. Tanagers are often brightly coloured, but some species are black and white.  Tanagers are restricted to the Western Hemisphere and mainly to the tropics. About 60% of tanagers live in South America, and 30% of these species live in the Andes. Most species are endemic to a relatively small area. 

Scarlet, Summer, and Western Tanagers (sometimes seen in Niagara) appear to be members of the cardinal family, and have been reassigned to that family.

Did you know ??

Traditionally about 240 species have been placed in this family but DNA-based phylogenetic studies have led to major revisions and now contain over 400 species.