167 



THE LOUISIANA TANAGER. 



{Piranha ludoviciana.) 



The family of Tanagers is remarkable 

 for the number of species, the gaudy col- 

 oring of many and the interesting fact 

 that they are confined to the Americas 

 and the adjacent islands. Dr. Ridgway 

 says, "that the five families of Neotrop- 

 ical birds, which are represented by the 

 greatest number of species, are absolute- 

 ly peculiar to America, these families be- 

 ing the Tanagers, Tyrant Flycatchers, 

 Wood-hewers, Ant Thrushes and Hum- 

 ming-birds. None of these families have 

 even true representatives in any part of 

 the Old World." 



The family of Tanagers includes ap- 

 proximately three hundred and eighty 

 species, of which not more than ten per 

 cent, have a range extending as far north 

 as Southern Mexico, and only four, or at 

 the most five, species are known to the 

 United States. Of these only two. the 

 Scarlet Tanager and the Summer Red- 

 bird, are generally known as far north as 

 Canada. 



The Tanagers make their home in the 

 trees, and, being of a retiring disposition, 

 are more numerous within the bounds of 

 the forest. During the breeding season 

 they retire still further into the interior. 

 No wonder that they are more numerous 

 in tropical regions, where the luxuriant 

 foliage of the forests furnishes them with 

 a safe retreat, and where there is an abund- 

 ance of food suited to their taste. This 

 tendency to avoid the society of man has 



made the study of their habits much more 

 difficult, and but little has been record- 

 ed except that which pertains to the more 

 northern forms. 



The food is chiefly insects, especially in 

 the larval form, and berries. To some 

 extent they also feed upon the buds of 

 flowers. Mr. Chapman tells us that "the 

 tropical species are of a roving disposi- 

 tion, and wander through the forests in 

 search of certain trees bearing ripe fruit, 

 near which they may always be found in 

 numbers." Their nests are shallow and 

 the eggs, usually three to five in number, 

 are greenish-blue in color, speckled with 

 brown and purple. 



The Louisiana Tanager is a Western 

 species, ranging from British Columbia 

 on the north to Guatemala on the south, 

 and from the Missouri river to the Pa- 

 cific coast. Our illustration well repre- 

 sents the male. The female, like its sister 

 tanagers, is plainly colored, but still beau- 

 tiful. It is olive green, with the under- 

 side yellowish. The feathers of the wings 

 and tail are brown, edged with olive. It 

 resembles the female Scarlet Tanager. 

 The young are at first like the female. 

 Then appears the black of the back, 

 mixed with some olive and a slight tinge 

 of red on the head. 



It would seem that its name is a mis- 

 nomer, as it is not found in the State of 

 Louisiana. 



