The bright-red bird featured in the premiere of Task, which serves as a broader analogy on the show, is rare but not unfamiliar sight in Montgomery County, writes Kristin Hunt for the Philly Voice.
In the Delaware County-set show, FBI special agent Tom Brandis hears a distinct bird call and grabs his binoculars, only to be surprised by a male summer tanager, the only bird in the country that has an entirely red plumage.
His shock and elation at the discovery are warranted, according to Sean Murphy, state ornithologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
“Summer tanagers are one of our more rare breeding birds,” he said. “… Most of the research that’s been done for summer tanagers suggests that when birds are seen here in the spring, they’re somewhat overshooting their breeding grounds. And they may show up in the spring in Pennsylvania and be observed for a few days or a week or so, and then they return to a more appropriate breeding location.”
The bird was most recently spotted in Montgomery County in 2024 and again in Delaware County this past May.
Read more about the summer tanager and HBO’s Task in the Philly Voice.
