THE PERcHING Birps. 85 
“In Pennsylvania they are a rare species, having myself some- 
times passed a whole summer without seeing one of them; while in 
New Jersey, even within half a mile of the shore opposite the city 
of Philadelphia, they may generally be found during the season. 
“Its manners, though neither its bill nor tongue, partake very much 
of those of the Flycatcher; for I have frequently observed both male 
and female, a little before sunset, in parts of the forest clear of under- 
wood, darting after winged insects, and continuing thus engaged till 
it was almost dusk.” 

Scarlet Tanager, 
I do not know how abundant the summer red-bird 
may be in the Southern States, but as a bird of New 
Jersey we have now to speak of it in the past tense 
rather than the present. It was a bird of our orchards 
forty years ago, but is such no longer. The few that 
wander this far north now constitute no distinct feature 
of the blossoming orchard. It is said—which goes 
for very little—that the scarlet tanager has slowly 
taken its place. If so, it isa poor exchange. The 
good old-fashioned summer red-bird was a songster 
of that emphatic kind which appeals to young people. 
He whistled with a vim. I fancy I can hear them 
still, when of a bright May morning their shrill voices 
sounded wef-wET-WET, clear as a fife, and the house- 
dog would look as if some one were calling him, and 
8 
