2^irb=lLore 



A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ of The Audubon Societies 



Vol. XXII July— August, 1920 No. 4 



Photographing the Scarlet Tanager 



By C. W. LEISTER, Ithaca, N. Y. 



EVERY year, with the coming of spring, one always has a few favorites 

 among the hosts of feathered travelers that are migrating northward. 

 One of my favorites is the Scarlet Tanager, and I know of no prettier 

 sight than that offered by a male, busily engaged in pursuing flying insects. 

 With sudden darts into the open, he shows his scarlet and black colors so 

 vividly that the impression is never forgotten. 



Tanagers are not common during the summer at Ithaca, usually only one 

 or two pairs being located in a season. The year 1919, however, proved to be 

 a banner year for them. Early in the season we noticed more than the usual 

 number of Tanagers. As time went on, it seemed that more of them were 

 going to nest in the locality than had ever done so before. Often we could 

 hear several males singing at the same time. 



The nesting season soon came, and on our walks we were always on the 

 lookout for a pair that had started their nest. For a long time our efforts 

 were unrewarded. Other nests were found but the Scarlet Tanager's 

 remained undiscovered. The males seemed very plentiful but if we tried 

 to keep them in sight very long, we usually lost them along one of the 

 ravines. The females were not often seen and none was noticed carrying 

 nesting material. 



Previously, we had experienced unfortunate endings to not a few of the 

 nests that we were intending to photograph, and so we began to fear that 

 this period of bad luck would be extended to include the Scarlet Tanager. 

 This almost proved to be the case. 



Several mornings a male was heard singing from a small wooded slope, and 

 we decided there must be a nest nearby. So early one morning I went to 

 watch him. He was singing along merrily in a treetop when he was suddenly 

 joined by his inconspicuous mate, and, with a few low call-notes, he flew with 

 her to a lower branch. I hoped that she would lead me to the nest, and luck 



