1544 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



Of the six subfamilies into which the tanagers are divided by 

 d fj^^Sclater, the violet tanager (Euphonia violacea) and its allies consti- 

 Allies tute t ^ ie typical representatives of the second. In this group the beak 

 is short, swollen at the base, but not very much broadened; while the 

 hooked upper mandible usually has two or three slight serrations behind the termi- 

 nal notch. The wings are moderate, with the first three primaries longer than the 

 rest, and nearly equal in length, while both the tail and metatarsus are short. The 

 violet tanager is a lovely little bird, with a rapid flight, frequenting the very tops of 

 the trees in which it dwells, its soft, tuneful note often denoting its presence before 

 the musician itself is seen. The nest of the violet tanager is comparatively large 

 for so small a bird, spherical in shape, built of dry grass, the finer stems of creepers, 

 and tufts of cotton. The interior is lined with tufts of grass. From three to four 

 eggs are laid in a clutch, reddish j^ellow in color, spotted with small brown spots. 

 The strain of this tanager consists of a succession of pleasing notes, softly poured 

 forth and long sustained. The violet tanager is a little gourmand, and feeds eagerly 

 on ripe fruit; preferring soft fruits, such as bananas, and plundering the gardens so 

 eagerly as sometimes to fairly strip a whole tree. It flourishes as a cage bird if sup- 

 plied with plenty of room, fed upon an adequate variety of fruits, and kept in a 

 warm room. The latter precaution is necessary, since this bird is susceptible of cold 

 and cannot bear frost. The adult male has the upper parts violet; the forehead and 

 lower parts are pure yellow; the tail feathers are steel blue above, dark beneath. 

 The female lacks the ornamental colors of her partner, being of a dull olive green 

 above, beneath yellowish gray. 



The splendid scarlet tanagers belong to the typical subfamily, in 

 Scarlet 



_ which the beak is more lengthened and awl-like than in the last, with 



Tanagers 



a single terminal notch, which may be obsolete; while both the tail and 



metatarsus are long. Of some two hundred species included in the subfamily, the 

 typical tanagers {Tanagra) have the plumage blue and yellow, while in the present 

 genus scarlet generally predominates in the coloration of the males. Writing of the 

 species (Pyranga rubra) in the United States, Mr. Nuttall observes that "this 

 splendid and transient resident, accompanying fine weather in all his wanderings, 

 arrives in his winter station in tropical America from the beginning to the middle of 

 May, and extends his migrations probably to Nova Scotia as well as Canada. With 

 the shy, unsocial, and suspicious habits of his gaudy fraternity, he takes up his 

 abode in the deepest recesses of the forest, where, timidly flitting from observation, 

 he darts from tree to tree like a flashing meteor. A gaudy sylph, conscious of his 

 brilliance, and the exposure to which it subjects him, he seems to avoid remark, and 

 is only solicitous to be known to his humble mate, and hid from all beside. He 

 therefore rarely approaches the habitations of men, unless, perhaps, the skirts of the 

 orchard, where he sometimes, however, builds his nest, and takes a taste of the early 

 and inviting though forbidden cherries. ' ' The nest is built on the horizontal branch 

 of some shady forest tree, constructed of stems of dry weeds, or slender fir twigs 

 loosely framed together, lined with slender roots and wiry stems, the whole nest 

 being so loosely welded together as to admit the light between the interstices. The 

 eggs are dull blue, spotted with two or three shades of brown or purple. The female 



