6i6 Field Museum of Natural History — Zoology, Vol. IX. 



"During the latter part of May, 1877, Thure Kumlien found this 

 species nesting within a few rods of the Kumlien homestead in Jeffer- 

 son County. Nest, eggs and parents were secured, and are now pre- 

 served in the Museum of the State University at Madison. The nest 

 was not especially different from that of P. erythromelas and was 

 placed well out on a horizontal branch of a large white oak. This 

 is without doubt the easternmost breeding record for the species, 

 although stragglers are reported even from New England. A second 

 male was procured the next June (1878) ; and in July, 1891, another, 

 also an adult male, was shot in the same locality by L. Kumlien." 

 (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 103.) 



280. Piranga erythromelas Vieill. 



Scarlet Tanager. 



Distr.: Eastern United States, from the Plains to the Atlantic 



coast, north to Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, south in winter to 



West Indies, Central America, and South America to Peru; breeds 



from Kentucky, southern Illinois, and southern Missouri northward. 



Adult tnale: General plumage, 

 scarlet; wings and tail, black; under 

 v^^" wing coverts, white. 



Adult female: Upper plumage, 

 olive green; under parts, greenish 

 yellow; wings and tail, grayish 

 brown, faintly edged with greenish; 

 no wing bars. 



Immature male: Resembles the 

 female, but when changing shows irregular blotches of red and 

 green. Adult male not infrequently shows abnormal coloring, such 

 as a different shade of red or even orange. 

 Length, 6.80; wing, 3.75; tail, 2.90; bill, .50. 



This beautiful species is a common summer resident in Illinois 

 and Wisconsin from about the first of May until September. The 

 song somewhat resembles that of the Robin, but is more shrill. The 

 male does not assume its full perfect red plumage until the spring of 

 the third year. 



It breeds in May and Jvme. The nest is on the limb of a tree, and 

 is composed of grass, flower stems, etc. The eggs are 3 to 5, pale 

 bluish or greenish, spotted and speckled with brown, and measure 

 about .92 X .66 inches. 



The Field Museum collection contains sets of eggs taken in north- 

 ern Illinois between May 281 and June 14. 



