THE SCARLET TANAGER 



THESE "black-winged redbirds" are occasionally mis- 

 taken by novices for cardinals, but the dusky wings 

 and tail, and the absence of a crest differentiate them. 

 Then, too, the scarlet of their coats is of a different shade 

 of red. 



Their cousins, the summer tanagers, denizens of 

 southeastern United States and occasional residents of 

 the North, resemble cardinals more closely. Both have 

 a nearly uniform rose-red plumage, but the summer 

 tanager has brownish wings edged with red, and no crest. 



The beauty of male tanagers has caused them to be 

 eagerly sought in the past. I have childish memories of 

 their scarlet bodies decorating the hats of thoughtless 

 women, and I blush to confess a feeling of envy rather 

 than regret at the wicked slaughter. Audubon Societies 

 have done much to change public sentiment and put a 

 stop to barbarous practices. 



Never shall I forget the breathless joy I felt when, 

 grown to young womanhood, I first saw a tanager's vivid 

 beauty gleaming against the almost black-green foliage 

 of a dense grove. I think that I remember every tanager 

 which I have since seen, as well as each lovely setting that 

 enhanced his gorgeous coloring. A glimpse of one marks 

 a red-letter day. Twice I have seen two males at once, 

 in company with a rose-breasted grosbeak — all singing; 

 memorable experiences. 



The WESTERN TANAGER, with his yellow body and 

 crown, his red "face," black back and tail, and yellow 

 and black wings, appeared before me one day in the noble 

 woods that crown Glacier Point in the Yosemite Valley. 

 I felt that his beauty, like that of his eastern relatives, was 

 his "excuse for being." He does not enjoy quite so good 



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