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This page lists books that are totally or partially about Tanagers. The books are listed in order of publication date with the most recent at the top.

There are approximately 240 species of Tanagers found in the Americas.

Tanagers, Cardinals, and Finches of the United States and Canada: The Photographic Guide

David Beadle and J.D. Rising

2006

"This is the first comprehensive photographic identification guide to tanagers, cardinals, and finches. Many of North America's finest bird and wildlife photographers have supplied a stunning collection of images, some of which depict plumages rarely available in other publications. The 200 photographs have been carefully selected to illustrate age, seasonal, and sexual variation in all of the species found north of Mexico, including introduced species and vagrants. The text is designed to introduce the reader to the biology, identification, molts, vocalization, and distribution of the forty-six species covered. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption outlining relevant identification features, and original range maps illustrate the distributions of all the species that regularly occur north of Mexico."

Tanagers: Natural History, Distribution and Identification

Morton L. Isler and Phyllis R. Isler

1999

(Uncertain iof this is a new edition or just a reprint of the 1987 edition)

"The tanagers are a diverse New World family of birds numbering some 242 species, some of them colourful and conspicuous. The authors have studied them at first hand and have drawn together existing information on the natural history and distribution of tanagers, most of it previously unpublished. Information on field identification is also included. The book will be of great interest to ornithologists, zoologists, and all who are interested in natural history, by contributing to the understanding of the tanagers and the ecosystems of which they are part."

Tanagers: Natural History, Distribution and Identification

Morton Isler

Christopher Helm

1999

"A guide to the 242 species of tanager found in the Americas. There are 32 colour plates showing 551 tanager plumages. Distribution maps are provided for each species. The text covers aspects of the species' natural history with emphasis on field identification."

Life Of The Tanager

Alexander F. Skutch

Cornell University Press

1989

"Alexander F. Skutch has spent more than 40 years studying Neotropical birds, mostly in southern Costa Rica, where he makes his home. In this charming book he observes the habits of the tanagers, a family of some 230 species of brightly colored, predominantly fruit-eating birds of the New World. Skutch describes many of the unusual things he has seen tanagers do, and details their behavior: how they forage and feed, vocalize, interact with one another, court, and breed. He tells how they nest, care for their young, and defend against predators, and shows them in such daily activities as grooming and sleeping. His final chapter is devoted to the present status of tanagers in relation to humans and the destruction of their physical environment."

Tanagers: Natural History, Distribution and Identification

Morton L. Isler and Phyllis R. Isler

1987

"The tanagers are a diverse New World family of birds numbering some 242 species, some of them colourful and conspicuous. The authors have studied them at first hand and have drawn together existing information on the natural history and distribution of tanagers, most of it previously unpublished. Information on field identification is also included. The book will be of great interest to ornithologists, zoologists, and all who are interested in natural history, by contributing to the understanding of the tanagers and the ecosystems of which they are part."

Tanagers, Vol. 2

E. Norgaard-Olesen

1974

Tanagers, Vol. 1

E. Norgaard-Olesen

1973

The Birds Of North And Middle America: A Descriptive Catalogue

Part II: Family Tanagridae - The Tanagers, Family Icteridae - The Troupials, Family Coerebidae - The Honey Creepers, Family Mniotiltidae - The Wood Warblers

Robert Ridgway

Smithsonian Institution

United States National Museum

1902

Preface:

"The present volume is the second of a series which will probably require eight volumes for completion. It contains the following families: Tanagridae (Tanagers), Icteridae (Troupials), Coerebidae (Honey Creepers), and Mniotiltidae (Wood Warblers). Part I, issued in 1901, included the Family Fringillidae (Finches) alone. Part III, which is well under way, will include the Motacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits), Hirundinidae (Swallows), Vireonidae (Vireos), Ampelidae (Waxwings), Ptiliogonatidae (Silken Chatterers), Dulidae (Palm Chatterers), Laniidae (Shrikes), Corvidae (Crows and Jays), Paridae (Titmice), Sittidae (Nuthatches), Certhiidae (Creepers), Troglodytidae (Wrens), Cinclidae (Dippers), Chamaeiidae (Wren-tits), and Sylviidae (Kinglets, etc.), and will probably go to press some time during the present year. The remaining volumes are all in a more or less advanced stage of preparation and it is hoped that these may follow at the rate of two a year. Acknowledgments for the loan of material for use in the preparation of the present volume are due to the persons and public institutions mentioned in Part I (pages xii, xiii), and also to Dr. A. K. Fisher, Mr. William Palmer, and Mr. Paul Bartsch, of Washington, District of Columbia. Both Dr. Fisher and Mr. Palmer should have been mentioned in Part I in this connection, and the inadvertent omission of their names is much regretted. Most of the measurements of specimens for the present volume were made by Mr. J. H. Riley, Mr. Sidney S. Wilson, and Miss Frances E. Swett."

On Two Recently Discovered Additions To The Genus Calliste

P.L. Sclater

Ibis: Volume 43, Issue 4, pages 595-597

1901

Opening lines:

"The beautiful Tanagers of the genus Calliste have been a frequent subject of my studies ever since I began ornithological work, and I feel much indebted to Mr. Walter Rothschild for allowing me to figure two recently described additions to this attractive group from specimens in the Tring Museum."

Catalogue Of The Passeriformes or Perching Birds In The Collection Of The British Museum

Catalogue Of The Birds In The British Museum, Volume XI

Philip Lutley Sclater

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1888

From the introduction:

"The Tanagers were the subject of some of my earliest studies in the class of Birds. After writing many preparatory papers and notes on this group, I communicated, in 1856, to the Zoological Society of London a Synopsis of the whole family, which appeared in their 'Proceedings' for that year; and in the following year I published an Illustrated Monograph of one of the most extensive and brilliant genera. I may add that I have never lost sight of the subject since that period, but have always taken special interest in the group. It was therefore with great pleasure that I acceded to Dr. Gunther's request that I should prepare the Catalogue of the specimens of Tanagridae in the British Museum, to which my own series, the result of some thirty-five years' assiduous collecting, has been recently added. The two families Coerebidae and Icteridae, with which I had also a considerable previous acquaintance, were likewise assigned to me to make up the volume."

Description Of A New Tanager Of The Genus Calliste, And Remarks On Other Recently Discovered Species

P.L. Sclater

Ibis: Volume 18, Issue 4, pages 407-410

1876

Opening lines:

"The illustrated Monograph of the Genus Calliste, which I published in 1858, contained figures and descriptions of fifty two species of this brilliant genus of Tanagers. In the Catalogue of my American collection, published in 1862, forty-nine species only were given, five of those recognized in the monograph being then unrepresented in the collection, but two additional species being included, namely C. albiventris (united in the monograph to C. brasiliensis) and C. cyanotis (discovered subsequently). In 1863, in an article published in this journal, 'on Recent Additions to the Genus Calliste,' I gave an account of the discoveries in this group which had been made up to that time since the issue of my monograph."

Remarks on the Species of the Tanagrine Genus Chlorochrysa

P.L. Sclater

Ibis: Volume 17, Issue 4, pages 464-467

1875

Opening lines:

"The beautiful Tanagers of the genus Chlorochrysa are associated with some of my earliest ornithological experiences. In the latter part of the year 1850, Mr. Edward Wilson, who was at that time purchasing birds in large numbers for presentation by his brother, Mr. Thomas B. Wilson, to the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, placed in my hands examples of two species of this form. One of these I quickly recognized as the Callospiza calliparia of Tschudi; the other I was preparing to describe as new, when I found that I had been just anticipated by Prince Bonaparte, who had characterized it shortly in the 'Comptes Rendus' as Calliste phoeniicotis, and had at the same time named the other species Calliste bourcieri."

A Monograph Of The Birds Forming The Tanagrine Genus Calliste

Philip Lutley Sclater

John Van Voorst

1857

From the preface:

"In every department of Zoology, I believe, pictorial representation, even though not of the most finished character, is better qualified to give a good idea of the object intended than the most accurate description. Such at least is the case in Ornithology; and the comparative neglect shown to what would seem likely to be one of the most attractive branches of Natural History, may perhaps be partly attributed to the scarcity of works containing coloured illustrations of birds, and their usually excessive costliness. The present volume is the result of an attempt to contribute something towards meeting these deficiencies, by giving figures of an interesting group of this class of animals, sufficiently accurate for all scientific purposes, and at a price which, it is hoped, will render it not unattainable to many, who have hitherto been generally precluded from acquiring books of this sort. The work is not expected to be a profitable undertaking, but, should a number of copies be disposed of sufficient nearly to meet the expenses of publication, it is in contemplation to issue other volumes of a similar character."