THE SCARLET TANAGER 



Tanager Family — Tangaridce 



Length: About 7 inches. 



General Appearance: A bright scarlet body, with black wings 

 and tail; no crest. 



Male: Scarlet and black in breeding plumage; after the molt, 

 olive and yellow, with black wings and tail; wings 

 white underneath. The male does not acquire red 

 plumage until the second year. While molting, the 

 adult male has irregular patches of olive and yellow 

 mixed with his red feathers, giving a curious effect. 



Female: Olive-green above; yellowish-olive below, brightest 

 on throat; wings and tail dark gray, washed with 

 olive. She is very effectively protected by her color- 

 ing. 



Note: Call-note chip-chur, very distinct and reasonably loud. 



Song: A warble, full, rich, and pleasing, but not varied; suf- 

 ficiently like the songs of the robin and the rose- 

 breasted grosbeak to make identification difficult for a 

 beginner. The frequent chip-chur betrays the 

 tanager's presence. 



Habitat: Dense groves of hard-wood trees, especially those 

 containing oaks. Mr. Forbush calls the tanager 

 "the appointed guardian of the oaks." The bird 

 is found in parks and on well-wooded estates, as 

 well as in the deep woods. 



Bange: Eastern North America and northern South America. 

 Breeds in southern Canada as far west as the Plains, 

 and in the United States to southern Kansas, north- 

 ern Arkansas, Tennessee, northern Georgia, and the 

 mountains of Virginia and South Carolina; winters 

 from Colombia to Bolivia and Perm 



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