Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Summer Tanager [lateral view of female-plumaged adult]. Photograph Credit: Edward Thornblade; Fairfield Glade, Cumberland County, Tennessee; 21 December 2013.

–  —

Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and fall; Occasional during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; Visitor during winter (1 record); specimen (6 June 1938; Coopersville, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of female-plumaged individual] (DJ Stanley; Brookhaven Dr., Cumberland County, Tennessee; 15 October 2008); photograph (see above).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 114 (10 May 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 55 (25 September 2010; DeKalb County, Tennessee (FBB]; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:

C. 15 December 2013–17 January 2014 (1—female-plumaged) Fairfield Glade,Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edward Thornblade photo [21 December 2013; see above], Karen Thornblade).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 25 April; fall departure largely complete by 10 October.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). 

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 25 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 44 (of 206) during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Fairly Common during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification coincides well with the overall Regional abundance classification for this species.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: As the Foray data reveal, this tanager is much less densely distributed on the Cumberland Plateau than on the adjacent East Highland Rim or the nearby Central Basin.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited