a 
252 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
purplish-brown, in some specimens quite thickly, in others 
less so. The ground-color is the most prominent; the mark- 
ings never completely hiding it, or sufficiently confluent to 
be called blotches. A nest complement of four eggs, in a 
nest collected in Milton, Mass., exhibit the following meas- 
urements: .97 by .66 inch, .95 by .65 inch, .90 by .62 inch, 
.88 by .64 inch. Other specimens show no great variations 
from these dimensions. 
The Scarlet Tanager thrives well in confinement, and 
makes a beautiful and interesting pet. I once kept one 
caged for over six months. He eat seeds and small fruits, 
and, within a week after his capture, chanted his warbling 
song with perfect freedom. He had, and I have also noted 
that all of this species have, a sort of ventriloquism in his 
song: it at times sounded as if at quite a distance; and I 
have been deceived in this manner, by birds that were almost 
over my head, into supposing that they were far away. 
Page. 
