88 Birds Every Child Should Know 



lighter breast that she may be in perfect colour 

 harmony with the leaves she lives and nests 

 among. If she, too, wore scarlet, I fear the 

 tanager tribe would have disappeared years 

 ago. Happily her protective colouring, which 

 betrays no nest secrets, has saved the species. 

 Is it not strange that birds, who spend the 

 rest of their lives among the tree-tops, himting 

 among the foliage for insects and small fruit, 

 should nest so low? Sometimes they place 

 their cradle on a limb only six feet from the 

 ground. It is a rather shabby, poorly made 

 affair which very lively tanager youngster might 

 easily tumble apart. ''Chip — churr'' calls the 

 gorgeous father from the tree top, and a re- 

 assuring reply that all is well with the nest 

 floats up to him from his mate. He does not 

 often risk its safety by showing himself near 

 the nest, securely hidden by the foliage below. 

 If, toward the end of May, you hear him singing 

 his real song, which is somewhat like an oriole's 

 mellow, cheery carol, you may be sure he is 

 planning to spend the summer in your neigh- 

 bourhood. Not many miles from New York 

 there is a house built on the top of a hill, whose 

 sides are covered with oak and chestnut woods, 

 where one may be sure to see tanagers among 

 the tree tops from any window at any hour of 

 any day from May to October. Several nests 

 in those woods are saddled on to the horizontal 



