Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea
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![]() The bright red body and black wings of the breeding-plumage male Scarlet Tanager make it one of the most spectacular of North American songbirds. It tends to frustrate would-be photographers by mostly staying high in the forest canopy; this one gave me a chance by descending lower than others we saw during our four days photographing in southern Ohio's Shawnee State Forest during April 2015. |
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![]() The bird may seem to be carrying vegetation in its mouth, but males of this species don't participate in nest-building, and are insectivores; on closer inspection, an insect leg is visible below the birds lower mandible. The insects most famous for looking like leaves are the katydids, and I suspect that this is one. |