TAN AGE RS 



8i 



tiful bird's voice which one can only liken to a 

 giant musical liuml)Ie bee. or an olil-tinic hurdy- 

 gurdy : the unobtrusive music speaks of sum- 

 mer's peace and rest, soft ze]:)hyrs blowint,' over 

 sighing pine-trees, and tinkling shallows of wood- 

 land brooks." 



There remains to be noted the extraordinary 

 color difference between the magnificent male 

 Tanager and the neutral, even dull, hues of the 

 female's plumage, ^^'hen the birds are seen to- 

 gether this contrast is so pronounced that unin- 

 formed persons are often incredulous about the 

 relationship, and are disposed to insist that they 

 must represent totally different species. 



In the cool early spring as the farmer begins 

 his plowing there may be seen among the Black- 

 birds following almost at his heels the Black- 

 winged Redbird. He is just as industriously 

 picking up grubs, ants, ground-beetles, and 



earthworms as his comjianions. However, as the 

 season ailvances, he shows his preference for 

 trees, and for the remainder of his stay with us 

 he may be founrl in the woods and orchards. 

 Here his chief occujiation is hunting caterpillars 

 and he has few superiors in this work. Leaf- 

 rolling caterpillars he skillfully extracts from the 

 rolled-up leaves; he is very destructive to the 

 g\-psy-nioth, taking all stages except the eggs. 

 The Iarv;e of gall-insects and other injurious 

 larvre have their places on his menu. When 

 wood-boring and bark-boring beetles and wce- 

 \ils are in season, they form a considerable pro- 

 ])ortion of his food. He eats verv greedilv of 

 click-beetles, leaf-eating beetles, and crane-flies 

 whenever and wherever he finds them. 



The vegetable food of the Tanager is seeds, 

 berries, and small fruits. He seems to prefer 

 the wild varieties. 



SUMMER TANAGER 

 Piranga rubra rubra {Liiiiucits) 



.\ I). U. Xuml.tT i.io See (.'olor I'l.Tli- 87 



Other Names, — Redhird ; Summer Redbird : Smootli- 

 headed Redbird : Bee liird. 



General Description. — Length, 7'S inches. Male, 

 red with grayish-brown wings; female, yellowish olive- 

 green above and yellow below with grayisli-brown 

 wings. Bill, stout; wings, moderately long and pointed; 

 tail, shorter than wing, notched. 



Color. — Adult M.vle : Alunu-. /■/ui'/j </»// ;•<•</, 

 brighter on crown, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; wings 

 and primary coverts, grayish-brown edged with dull red : 

 under parts, clear, rich vermilion; the under wing- 

 coverts, paler; bill, light brownish; iris, brown. Adult 

 Female: Above, plain yctluivish olivc-grccn, more yel- 

 lowish on crown, lower rump, and upper tail-coverts, 

 the back and shoulders sometimes tinged with grayish; 

 primaries, grayish-brown with light yellowish olive- 

 green edgings ; lores, pale yellowish-gray ; an indistinct 

 eye-ring of light dull yellow; under parts, dull yellow, 

 the under tail-coverts chrome-yellow ; bill as in adult 

 male. Young Male in First Autumn: Similar to the 

 adult female, but more richly colored, the under 

 tail-coverts deep chrome-yellow, the general color of 

 upper parts more ochraceous, with crown, upper tail- 

 coverts, tail, and ed,ges of primaries tinged with dull 

 orange. 



The only seasonal fliffercnce of Cdlor in this species 

 is the greater intensity of the colors in autumn and 



winter, the opposite extreme being represented in mid- 

 summer specimens. Immature males arc variously inter- 

 mediate in plumage between the plumage of the adult 

 female and that of the adult male, the relative propor- 

 tion of red and yellowish varying according to age, 

 several years being required lor attainment of the full 

 plumage. Adult females not infrequently show touches 

 nf red, sometimes a considerable amount of this color, 

 but such females may be distinguished from immature 

 males by the duller color of the red. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Generally in deciduous trees 

 on a horizontal limb from 5 to 60 feet up ; so thinly 

 constructed of bark strips, rootlets, a few leaves, and 

 grass as to show the eggs from beneath ; in central 

 and southern States sometimes more comjiactly built 

 by the addition of down and moss. Eggs: 3 or 4, light 

 green inclining to emerald, spotted and blotched with 

 sepia, lilac, and brownish purple. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States in sunnner, 

 breeding from the Gulf States (Florida to eastern 

 Texas) north to southern Xew Jersey and southeastern 

 Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, central Indiana, central 

 Illinois, southern Iowa, etc. ; casual or occasional visi- 

 tant north to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, 

 Connecticut, Ontario, etc.; in winter south to llahamas. 

 Cuba, eastern Mexico, Central .\merica and north and 

 northwestern South America. 



From New Jersey southward to central Florida an undergrowth of sinall oaks makes conditions 



the Summer Tanager makes its summer home. attr;ictive for such liirds. It is not much given 



It inhabits open woodlands and is partial in some to inhabiting the dense hammocks or the swamps 



sections to those forests of yellow pine where of heavy cypress. It is not a jiarticularly siiy 



