Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
CARDINALIDAE Members:
General Comments
The Western Tanager is a rare visitor and over-wintering "resident" in North Carolina, but it occurs essentially annually now. It has most often been seen near the coast and on the adjacent mainland, and is much rarer farther inland. The vast majority of the sightings occur between Dec and early May; there are also a few sightings throughout the fall. Thankfully, it has a proclivity for visiting feeders, such that a birder has a good chance of seeing a "staked-out" tanager within a given decade, even though very few birds are found in the state in a given winter.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
The species' status on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina: either Definitive, Provisional, or Extinct, as administered by the NC Bird Records Committee. The Provisional List contains species for which there are less than three accepted sight (i.e., non-documented) records. Species of unaccepted origin are not included on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina.
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SZ
Global Rank
G5
Coastal Plain
Scarce "transient" and winter visitor, with over 115 records. Very rare to rare in winter along the coast and slightly inland (on the mainland); very rare in the central part of the region, and casual to very rare in the western portion, including the Sandhills. Many of these are birds appearing at feeders, lingering for weeks at a time, even spending the entire winter on occasions. Mainly mid- or late Nov to late Mar, sparingly to early May, once to 29 May, and once to 1 Jun. An adult male (seen by an excellent observer) in the Sandhills Game Land on 10 Aug 1974 is remarkable. Peak counts: 3, Wilmington feeder, 21 Feb 2025; 2, on four occasions -- Manteo, Morehead City, New Bern, Pinehurst, and Southern Shores (Dare).
Piedmont
Scarce "transient" and winter visitor, with about 52 records, typically at feeders. Very rare visitor, mainly from early Dec to early May, with one record for 8 Oct. Even earlier was one at Lake Higgins (Guilford) on 13 Sep 2023. Only five or six of the birds stayed for a week or more, and four of them over-wintered (in Charlotte, Davidson [Mecklenburg], Forsyth, and Raleigh). Most notable was one seen in the foothills feeding on dogwood berries (and not at a feeder), at Lake James SP (McDowell), from 3 Dec 2014 - 8 Jan 2015. Peak counts: 2, Apex (Wake), winter of 2021-22; 2, Charlotte, 16 Feb 2026.
Mountains
Casual visitor. Only about six records, though only one since 1991. Oddly, the dates are "strangely" across the board -- 31 May, "Jun", 19 Jul, 25 Sep, 3 Jan, and 4 Jan. Quite remarkable was the report in Pearson et al. (1959) of a pair seen at Waynesville (Haywood) in Jun 1944. It is hoped that these were all correctly identified; interestingly, none were at feeders.
Finding Tips
* to **
You likely will see your first in the state at a feeder near the coast. A handful are now occurring at feeders well inland, often lingering for weeks at a time.