THE CRIMSON-HEADED TANAGER. 171 



"Louisiana,"' wliose fuiilicr reaches ihey were then exploring, i'ul we are 

 no longer a part of Louisiana, and we prefer a color-name for one of our 

 few brilliant birds of plumage. 



In the hand, the bright yellow of the male Tanager, shading into the 

 I)rigln crimson upon the liead, would seem to assure a very conspicuous bird, 

 but aheld it is not s( 1. Seen against the changing green of maples, pines, 

 or tir trees, these ])rillianl colors are lost to any but the most attentive eye. 

 A resplendent male does not hesitate to stand quietly upon the end of a 

 branch and survey you until his curiosity is fully satisfied. This quiet atti- 

 tude of genteel curiosity seems to be characteristic of all Tanagers. Apart 

 from its psychological bearings, sedateness would seem to play an effective 

 part in modifying the attractions of bright plumage. 



The male birds precede the dull-colored females by several days, and 

 at such times only may be found in companies. One windy afternoon in 

 ^Lay, the 20th it was, while the Columbia River steamer doddered with its 

 freight. I todk a turn ashore and explored a tiny oasis of willows which 

 lined a neighljoring brook. I soon caught the pitic or pititic of newly-arrived 

 Tanagers. Judge of my delight upon beholding, not one, but eight of these 

 beauties, all old males, as they filed out of a willow clump, where they had 

 evidentlv taken refuge for the day. A week or so later 1 saw Tanagers at 

 home in the meager willow fringes of Crab Creek, in Lincoln County : and 

 while we were in camp at Brook Lake in Douglas County, one came out thru 

 the sage, hopping and flitting from bush to bush, to bring me friendl\- 

 greetings. It was like meeting a king in a millet field. 



The song of the Louisiana Tanager — pardon the lapse: habit is stronger 

 than reason — the song of the Crimson-headed Tanager is an etude in R. 

 "It is remotely comparable to that of the Robin, but it is more stereotyped in 

 form, briefer, and uttered at intervals rather than continuously sustained. 

 The notes are sharp-edged and rich in r's. while the movement of the whole, 

 tho deliberate, is varied, and the tone cheerful'"'''. I can detect no constant 

 difference between the song of the Crimson-headed Tanager and that of the 

 Scarlet Tanager (P. crythrowclas), save that that of the former is oftener 

 prefaced with the call note, thus : Pitcric zi'Iiew, zve soor a-ary e-cric iritoocr. 

 This song, however, is less frequently heard than that of the Scarlet Tanager, 

 East. Its perfect rendition, moreover, argues the near presence of a demure 

 little ladv in olive, a person who looks like nobody in particular to our un- 

 discriminating gaze, but who exerts a strange fascination over our brilliant 

 squire. Young males of the second summer sing hopefully, but they are 

 less often successful in love than their ruddier rivals. 



It behor)ves the Tanager maiden {<> be exacting in her choice, for all 



.Applied to P. crythromcltts in "The Birds of Ohio," p. 109. and exactly applicable here. 



