THE SCARLET TAN ACER. 259 



wasps, after catching them, and knocking them about to 

 break their wings, he would lay them down, then examine 

 if they had a sting, and, with his bill, squeeze the abdomen 

 to clear it of the reservoir of poison before he would swal- 

 low his prey. When in his cage, being very fond of dry 

 crusts of bread, if, upon trial, the corners of the crumbs 

 were too hard and sharp for his throat, he would throw 

 them up, carry and put them in his water-dish to soften, 

 and then take them out and swallow them." 



The Brown Thrush is a bird of the Eastern United 

 States, wintering south, extending northward in summer 

 into the British Provinces, being very common about Great 

 Manitoulin Island, and breeding throughout its range. 



THE SCARLET TANAGER. 



I continue my early morning ramble along the edge of a 

 beautiful forest. The whole atmosphere seems to vibrate 

 to the song of birds. . Some of them I hear for the first 

 time in the season. The song in yonder elm, for instance, 

 bearing quite a resemblance to that of the Robin, only 

 softer and less copious and fluent, is fresh and new this 

 morning; it is the song of the Scarlet Tanager (Pyranga 

 rubra), and compares well with any song in the woods, short 

 of that of the Thrushes. And yet neither Wilson nor 

 Audubon mentions anything more of song for this bird 

 than the chip, chur-r-r-r, which is its common note. There, 

 I get a full view of him now, amidst the dark green of that 

 hemlock. Always slow and dignified in his motions, what 

 a brilliant beauty he is! Nearly the size of a Baltimore 

 or a Bobolink, 6.75 long and 11.73 in extent, he is 

 a pure, bright scarlet, with jet-black wings and tail. 

 Moving with a steady flight, he has lit on the side 

 of a moss-covered log, by a small pool, smooth as a 



