Western tanager
Piranga ludoviciana (A. Wilson, 1811)
The western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) is a species in the family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 28.1 g to 30.3 g and live up to 7.9 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the western tanager
- Weight
- 28.1 g – 30.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 7.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 15.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.76src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the western tanager live?
Not recorded
What is the western tanager?
The western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
From the Wikipedia article “Western tanager” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_tanager&oldid=1375804379), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the western tanager sound like?
Is the western tanager endangered?
The western tanager is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the western tanager classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCardinalidae
- genusPiranga
- SpeciesPiranga ludoviciana (A. Wilson, 1811)
Synonyms Piranga ludoviciana ludoviciana, Tanagra ludoviciana
Other names and names in other languages (50)
- Louisiana tanagerEnglish
- Western PirangaEnglish
- piranga cara-rojaCatalan
- tangara červenohlaváCzech
- tanagr y GorllewinWelsh
- Gul IldtangarDanish
- KiefernkardinalGerman
- KieferntangareGerman
- okcidenta kardinaloEsperanto
- Piranga carirrojaSpanish
- Piranga capucha rojaSpanish
- Tángara capucha rojaSpanish
- Tangara CarirrojaSpanish
- Tangara del OesteSpanish
- loode-leeklindEstonian
- Loode-leektangaraEstonian
- tammitangaraFinnish
- Piranga à tête rougeFrench
- tangara à tête rougeFrench
- Tangara tèt woujHaitian Creole
- žutotrba pirangaCroatian
- sáfránytangaraHungarian
- Piranga occidentaleItalian
- Tanagra occidentaleItalian
- ニシフウキンチョウJapanese
- vakarinė pirangaLithuanian
- rietumu tanagraLatvian
- Chʼoozhlaahalzhiin íiyisígííNavajo
- LouisianatangareDutch
- vestpirangaNorwegian
- VesttanagarNorwegian
- Tanagra Barica HelPapiamento
- Tanagra Barika HelPapiamento
- piranga żółtorzytnaPolish
- piranga-ocidentalPortuguese
- sanhaço-ocidentalPortuguese
- sanhaço-rubescentePortuguese
- Sanhaçu-ocidentalPortuguese
- Желтоплечая пирангаRussian
- Красноголовая пирангаRussian
- piranga čiernochrbtáSlovak
- Zapadna tangaraSerbian
- brandkardinalSwedish
- västlig tangaraSwedish
- Batı tangarasıTurkish
- Batılı PirangaTurkish
- піранга жовтогузаUkrainian
- 黃腹比藍雀Chinese
- 黃腹麗唐納雀Chinese
- 黄腹丽唐纳雀Chinese
Relatives of the western tanager
Other species in the same genus Piranga.

Scarlet tanager
Piranga olivacea

Summer tanager
Piranga rubra

Flame-colored tanager
Piranga bidentata

Red tanager
Piranga flava
Red-headed tanager
Piranga erythrocephala
White-winged tanager
Piranga leucoptera
CompareWestern tanager vs Scarlet tanagerWestern tanager vs Summer tanagerWestern tanager vs Flame-colored tanagerWestern tanager vs Red tanager
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the western tanager?
An adult western tanager weighs 28.1 g – 30.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the western tanager endangered?
The western tanager is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the western tanager live?
The western tanager has a recorded lifespan of 7.9 years.
What kind of animal is the western tanager?
The western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) belongs to the family Cardinalidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-tanager
“Western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-tanager.
@misc{western_tanager_2026,
title = {Western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-tanager},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}