BIRDS OF NEW YORK 337 



Piranga ludoviciana (Wilson) 



Western Tanager 



Tanagra ludoviciana Wilson. Amcr. Orn. 1811. 3:27. pi. 20, fig. 1 

 Piranga ludoviciana A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 2S8. Xo. 607 

 piranga, a barbarous word, perhaps one applied to tanagers; ludoviciana, of Louis- 

 iana, that is, French Louisiana 



Description. Adult male: Head scarlet or crimson extending down 

 along the central line of the breast; back, wings and tail mostly black, the 

 wings with 2 yellowish white bars; the rest of the plumage bright yellow, 

 especially the rump and the back of the neck. Female: Olive shaded 

 with ash on the back; under parts greenish yellow shaded with olive on 

 the side; wings and tail fuscous edged with olive, the wings barred with 

 yellowish white. Young males: Resemble female, gradually passing into 

 the plumage of the adult male. 



Length 7 inches; wing 3.75; tail 3; bill .6; tarsus .75. 



Distribution. This species inhabits western United States from the 

 Great Plains to the Pacific coast, as far north as British Columbia; winters 

 in Central America. Accidental in eastern United States. A single speci- 

 men was obtained in New York at Fort Montgomery, December 21, 1881, 

 a young male (Mearns, Auk, 7:53). 



Piranga erythromelas Vieillot 

 Scarlet Tanager 



Plate 87 



Pyranga erythromelas Vieillot. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. 1819. 28:293 

 Pyranga rubra DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 176, fig. 149 

 Piranga erythromelas A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 289. No. 608 

 erythromelas, Gr., spuOpd?, red, and [J-IXa;, black 



Description. Male: Bright scarlet except the wings and tail, which 

 are black; under wing coverts white, which, however, rarely show except 

 during flight. Winter plumage: Olive green above, greenish yellow below, 

 wings and tail black slightly glossed with greenish. Female: Light olive 

 green; under parts greenish yellow, wings and tail dusky, slightly edged 

 with greenish. Immature males resemble winter male. During the moulting 

 season birds partly scarlet and partly greenish are frequently observed. 



