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Scarlet Tanager print

from $39

Audubon-style fine-art print of a Scarlet Tanager on flowering dogwood, on archival paper. From $39, framed from $109.

Each print is made to order. You can cancel within 12 hours of ordering, after which it goes into production and cannot be cancelled. Secure checkout via Stripe.

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Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm.

A flash of red among the dogwood blooms. The Scarlet Tanager perches on a flowering branch, his body a deep saturated scarlet, his wings and tail absolute black, the two colours with no other markings between them. The plate places him in that exact composition: cardinal red against the white flowers and sage green of the Audubon-style ground, a burst of colour set inside an otherwise quiet spring palette.

Piranga olivacea is described in the species literature as the most violent red in the eastern canopy. And yet it is reliably one of the hardest common birds to actually see. He sings from the crowns of tall oaks, sixty feet up, half-screened by new leaves, and the closed canopy swallows even that scarlet whole. Most people who know this bird know him first as a sound: a hurried, burry song, phrases that rise and fall - like an American Robin with a sore throat, the description goes, and it is exactly right.

The male’s two-colour design belongs only to the breeding season. Come autumn he moults into olive-yellow, keeping the black wings. He crosses to the South American tropics wearing colours close to the female’s, then returns the following May in full scarlet again. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of around 2.6 million. The species requires large, unbroken tracts of mature deciduous forest, and its long-term vulnerability is tied directly to forest fragmentation, which brings Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism into nests that intact forest would shield.

In the tradition of Audubon, a glimpse of high-canopy colour, finally brought into reach.

Full field guide: /species/scarlet-tanager/

Before you order

How long does delivery take?+

Each print is made to order through our global print partner and shipped from the production lab nearest you - allow a few days for printing plus local tracked delivery.

Can I cancel my order?+

Each print is made to order. You can change or cancel it within 12 hours of ordering. After that it goes into production and can no longer be cancelled, though we will always put right anything that arrives damaged.

What sizes and finishes can I get?+

The available sizes (up to A2) and any framed finishes are shown above. Choose yours before checkout.

Is it ready to frame?+

Yes - each print is sized to fit standard frames. Framed finishes are offered on many prints.

What if it arrives damaged?+

Because each print is made to order, contact us within 14 days of delivery and we will put it right.

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