98 SUMMER RED-BIRD. 



by Dr. Latham are one and the same. The two figures in our plate 

 represent the male and female in their complete plumage, and of their 

 exact size. 



The food of these birds consists of various kinds of bugs, and large 

 black beetles. In several instances I have found the stomach entirely 

 filled with the broken remains of humble bees. During the season of 

 whortle-berrics they seem to subsist almost entirely on these berries ; 

 but in the early part of the season on insects of the above description. 

 In Pennsylvania they are a rare species, having myself sometimes 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. 



The note of the male is a strong and sonorous whistle, resembling a 

 loose trill or shake on the notes of a fife, frequently repeated ; that of 

 the female is rather a kind of chattering, approaching nearly to the 

 rapid pronunciation of cliichj-tucky-tuck, cliiclaj-tucky-tuck, when she 

 sees any person approaching the neighborhood of her nest. She is, 

 however, rarely seen, and usually mute, and scarcely to be distinguished 

 from the color of the foliage at a distance ; while the loquacity and 

 brilliant red of the male make him very conspicuous ; ^and when seen 

 among the green leaves, particularly if the light falls strongly on his 

 plumage, he has^a most beautiful and elegant appearance. It is worthy 

 of remark, that the females of almost all our splendid feathered birds 

 are dressed in plain and often obscure colors, as if Providence meant to 

 favor their personal concealment, and consequently that of their nest 

 and young from the depredations of birds of prey ; while among the 

 latter, such as Eagles, Owls, Hawks, &c., which are under no such 

 apprehension, the females are uniformly covered with richer colored 

 plumage than the males. 



The Summer Red-bird delights in a flat sandy country covered with 

 wood, and interspersed with pine trees, and is consequently more nume- 

 rous towards the shores of the Atlantic than in the interior. In both 

 Carolinas, and in Georgia and Florida, they are in great plenty. In 

 Mexico some of them are probably resident, or at least winter there ; 

 as many other of our summer visitants are known to do. In the 

 Nortlr^rn States they are very rare ; and I do not know that they have 

 been found either in Upper or Lower Canada. Du Pratz, in his History 

 of Louisiana, has related some particulars of this bird, which have been 

 repeated by almost every subsequent writer on the subject, viz. that 

 " it inhabits the woods on the Mississippi, and collects against winter a 

 vast magazine of maize, which it carefully conceals with dry leaves, 

 leaving only a small hole for entrance ; and is so jealous of it, as never 

 to quit its neighborhood except to drink." It is probable, though I 

 cannot corroborate the fact, that individuals of this species may winter 



