252 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



purplish-brown, in some specimens quite thickly, in others 

 less so. The ground-color is the most prominent ; the mark- 

 ings never completely hiding it, or sufficiently confluent to 



be called blotches. A nest complement of four eggs, in a 

 nest collected in Milton, Mass., exhibit the following meas- 

 urements: .97 by .66 inch, .93 by .65 inch, .90 by .62 inch, 

 .88 by .64 inch. Other specimens show no great variations 

 from these dimensions. 



The Scarlet Tanager thrives well in confinement, and 

 makes a beautiful and interesting pet. I once kept one 

 caged for over six months. Tie eat seeds and small fruits, 

 and, within a week after his capture, chanted his warbling 

 song with perfect freedom. He had, and I have also noted 

 that all of this species have, a sort of ventriloquism in his 

 song: it at times sounded as if at quite a distance; and I 

 have been deceived in this manner, by birds that were almost 

 over my head, into supposing that they were far away. 



