414 TANAGERS 



pale bluish white or greenish blue, with numerous rufous or rufous-brown 

 markings, '88 x '68. Date, Delaware Co., Pa., May 28; New London, Conn., 

 May 31; Cambridge, June 7; Black Hawk Co., Iowa, May 23; se. Minn., 

 May 21. 



In watching birds, there are certain sights and sounds that make a 

 day memorable much as a beautiful sunset does. I say to myself, "I 

 have seen a Scarlet Tanager today!" or, "I have listened to a Hermit 

 Thrush this evening." 



High among the tree- tops of the cool green woods the Tanager sings 

 through 'the summer days. Hidden by the network of leaves above 

 us, we often pass him by; but once discovered he seems to illuminate 

 the forest. We marvel at his color. He is like a Bird of Paradise in 

 our northern landscape. 



We are first guided to him by his call and song. They are peculiar, 

 and both have a rare woods flavor. The call is a distinctly uttered 

 chip-chirr. The song is a loud, cheery, rhythmical carol, suggesting 

 the song of the Robin. 



Inside the green woods the Tanager spends the summer, flying 

 down to visit his nest in the fresh young undergrowth or to bathe in 

 the still forest pools, and hunting and singing in the tree-tops high 

 overhead. FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY. 



610. Piranga rubra rubra (Linn.). SUMMER TANAGER. Ad. 9. Rose- 

 red, brighter below; wings fuscous, margined with rose-red. Im. <? in winter. 

 Similar to the 9 , but with more or less of a reddish tinge throughout the 

 plumage. Im. <? in summer. Variable; sometimes a mixture of ad. <? and 9 

 plumages, at others like the ad. cf, but wing-quills as in 9. The ad. d" plumage 

 is acquired at the first postnuptial molt and retained thereafter at all seasons. 

 Ad. 9 . Upperparts orange olive-green ; underparts yellowish orange. 

 L., 7'50; W., 375; T., 2'90; B. from N., '55. 



Range. SE. U. S. and n. S. Am. Breeds in Carolinian and Austroripa- 

 rian faunas from se. Nebr., s. Iowa, se. Wise., cen. Ind.,-s. Ohio, Md. (for- 

 merly N. J.), and Del. s. to ne. Mex. and cen. Fla. ; winters from cen. 

 Mex. to Peru and Guiana; straggles n. to N. B., Que., N. S., Maine, and 

 Ont. ; migrant in w. Cuba. 



Washington, uncommon S. R., Apl. 18-Sept. 19. Cambridge, one 

 record. 



Nest, of leaves, strips of bark, etc., generally near the extremity of a 

 limb, about 20 feet up. Eggs, 3-4, bluish white or greenish blue, with nu- 

 merous cinnamon- or olive-brown markings, '96 x '68. Date, San Mateo, 

 Fla., May 9; Mt. Pleasant, S. C., May 12; Mt. Carmel, Ills., May 28. 



This is a common summer resident of our Southern States, arriving 

 in Florida early in April. It frequents open, rather than dense woods, 

 and is particularly numerous in pineries having an undergrowth of 

 oaks. It may be easily identified, not alone by its color but by its 

 unique call-note a clearly enunciated chicky-tucky-tuck. Its song 

 bears a general resemblance to that of the Scarlet Tanager, but to 

 my ear is much sweeter and less forced. 



The WESTERN TANAGER (607. Piranga ludoviciana), a species of our 

 Western States, has been recorded from Wisconsin, Maine, Massachusetts, 

 Connecticut, New York, Louisiana and Wisconsin. 



