496 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



The Western Tanagers begin nesting activities soon after they arrive 

 in the Yosemite region. Little or nothing in the way of courting, other 

 than the persistent singing of the males, has been noticed of these birds. 

 On May 23 (1919) in Yosemite Valley a female was first seen at work on 

 a nest, and immediately after that date quite a number of other females 

 were observed gathering material, or building. Nest construction may be 

 looked for with confidence regularly during the last week of May ; in 1911 

 one female was seen building on May 26 and another, in 1915, on May 31. 



The work of nest construction is carried on entirely by the female, 

 and even when searching for material she is rarely if ever accompanied 

 by her mate. She employs no subterfuge, but usually gathers the material 

 on the ground in the near vicinity and then flies directly to the nest site. 

 The nest is located in trees and placed well above the ground, supported 

 by several small diverging twigs toward the end of some horizontal branch. 

 The height of the nests seen by us was about 20 to 25 feet, although one 

 was estimated to be 60 feet above the ground. Another, situated in a 

 rose bush (an exception to the rule above given) was within 10 feet of 

 the earth. The nests are loosely constructed and flattish, the height being 

 about half the breadth. Pine needles, long crinkly rootlets, and dried 

 grasses are used as building materials; these are put together in lattice- 

 work fashion, so that from below it is often possible to see light through 

 the interstices. 



Prior to the time that incubation commences, the members of a pair 

 are seen often together ; but after the female begins to sit the two birds 

 forage in company only for brief periods during the early morning and 

 evening hours. Through the day the male goes about by himself, foraging 

 on the ground or singing somewhere well up in the trees. He evidently 

 takes little or no part in the family duties until the eggs hatch, but after 

 that event he is almost as busy as his mate in caring for the brood ; he 

 takes food to the nest at frequent intervals through the day. The young 

 appear abroad in July. The juvenal plumage, which is much like that 

 of the parent female save for obscure streaking on the under surface, seems 

 to be worn only while the young birds are in the nest. By the time they 

 are old enough to leave, or at least very shortly thereafter, they have 

 molted and are then indistinguishable from the adult female. 



After the breeding season the tanagers do not wander to any appreciable 

 degree up into the higher zones. Only one individual, a male, was observed 

 by us in the Hudsonian Zone. He Avas seen near the Soda Springs on 

 Tuolumne Meadows on July 13, 1915. 



Tanagers in summer forage to a large extent in the trees for insects, 

 but some of their provender is apparently gathered also on the ground. 

 In late summer and early fall they turn to a vegetable diet and feed upon 



