TANAGERS 



avoid confusion with one of our most popular 

 and widespread American birds, the Lark Spar- 

 row. To show the lack of definitcness about the 

 common name of this bird, it is probably better 

 known as the Bobolink, among the farming 

 families of the prairies, than by any other name. 

 There are many Bobolink traits about the bird, 

 superficial traits to be sure, but eudugh to make 

 the easterner out on the plain recall his beloved 

 Bobolink of the east. 



The Lark Bvmting has a rich song during the 

 breeding season. After that the song ceases. 

 The song is poured out frequently on the wing 

 much in the manner of the Bobolink though the 

 song itself has nothing of the Bobolink quality. 

 When many Lark Buntings are singing at once, 

 some from the tops of weeds and others (jn the 

 wing, the effect is rich and musical. 



In habits the birds are rather shy on the breed- 

 ing grounds, particularly the females. They are 

 found frequently feeding siilently among the 

 flowers of the prairie floor. At other times they 

 are silently waiting on top of some bushes or 

 rails. One man says the Lark Buntings are 

 " always sitting around as if they had nothing 

 to do." When the winds blow, this bird does not 

 flee to cover as do many birds. He often stays 

 out in the winds as though he enjoyed them : and 

 he has been seen fighting the gales as though his 

 life depended on going to some destination at 

 that time. 



When the migration time comes, the flocks of 

 Lark Buntings are seen on the more southern 

 prairie lands of Texas and the southwestern 

 countrv. There thev are not at all shv, but 



ving by R. I. Brashe 



LARK BUNTING (i nat. size) 



rather friendly and curious of humans and 

 domestic animals. As they fly over in these 

 flocks they utter a cheery, sweet hon-cc with a 

 rising inflection that is distinctive of this bird 

 and verv attractive. 



TANAGERS 



Order Passcrcs ; suborder Oscincs ; family Taiigarida: 



N the Tanagers, the bill is somev^^hat conical in shape, decidedly longer than 

 its breadth or depth at the base ; the distinct ridge at the top is curved and at 

 the tip is hooked. The nostrils are exposed and rather large and either oval 

 or roundish. There are bristles at the corners of the mouth but these are 

 not conspicuous. The wing is moderate or long and pointed or rounded. 

 The tail is shorter than the wing; it is sometimes notched, sometimes even, 

 and sometimes slightly forked at the end; the feathers are of medium width 

 and rounded at the tips. 



In coloration the adult males are more or less red, sometimes entirely 

 so, with or without black wings and tails, the wings sometimes being marked 

 with white, yellow, or reddish bands. The adult females have the red replaced 

 by olive-greenish above and by yellowish beneath, but the wing pattern is the same as in 

 the male. The first plumage of the young differs from the adult coloring in being streaked 

 beneath. 



Tanagers are found in temperate North America southward through Mexico and Central 

 America and tropical vSouth America to Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. 



The word " Tanager " is derived from the Latin name Tanagra which Linnaeus applied 

 to the genus and which is probably of Brazilian origin. 



