﻿The Scarlet Tanager 149 



indeed, that in the state of Massachusetts should a sudden change take 

 place in the weather, during the time of their spring migrations, hundreds 

 die in the course of a night, not only in the woods and orchards, but even 

 in the towns and villages. I witnessed a like occurrence at Eastport in 

 Maine late in May, when I was on my way to Labrador." 



While at its summer home the Scarlet Tanager loves the deep woods, 

 although it is often seen in orchards and clearings. The nest is a very frail 

 affair and it is usually saddled on a limb, quite near its extremity, from ten 

 to forty feet from the ground ; it is composed of fine twigs and dried grasses, 

 with a lining of rootlets. The clutch of eggs varies from three to five; 

 they are greenish in color, much spotted with browns and purples. 



Alexander Wilson, one of the early American ornithologists, and 

 certainly one of the greatest, in speaking of the song of the Scarlet Tanager, 

 says:* ''Among the thick foliage of the tallest trees, his simple and almost 

 monotonous notes chip, churr, repeated at short intervals, in a pensive tone, 

 may be occasionally heard ; which appear to proceed from a considerable 

 distance, though the bird be immediately above you, — a faculty bestowed on 

 him by the beneficent author of Nature, no doubt for his protection, to 

 compensate in a degree for the danger to which his glowing color would 

 often expose him. If he has little of melody in his notes to charm us, he 

 has nothing in them to disgust." Wilson evidently failed to credit the 

 Tanager with its best vocal efforts, which all of the later observers and 

 writers have done. In fact, the Tanager is one of our best singers, being 

 almost the equal of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The songs of the two 

 birds are often mistaken, although it is claimed that the song of the Tanager 

 has not the roundness and fullness of that of the Grosbeak, being some- 

 what harsh in its finish. In addition to the fascinating esthetic qualities of 

 color and song of the Scarlet Tanager, it is of very great economic impor- 

 tance, as its food consists largely of noxious insects, especially those found 

 among the tree-tops; it also eats largely of wild fruits, with occasionally a 

 few cultivated ones. 



Wilson says, " His manners are modest, easy and inoffensive. He commits 

 no depredations on the property of the husbandman, but rather benefits him 

 by the daily destruction in spring of many noxious insects; and when winter 

 approaches he is no plundering dependent, but seeks in a distant country 

 for that sustenance which the severity of the season denies to his industry 

 in this." Among the most interesting and important branches of bird study 

 is that of plumage and moult; in fact, without some knowledge of this 

 subject the student makes little progress in his acquaintance with the birds 

 commonly found about him. The Scarlet Tanager and his soberly colored 

 consort are striking examples of differences of and also change in plumage. 

 The illustration herewith, to some extent, explains itself. The female bird 

 practically always wears the same dress so far as its color is concerned, 



* American Ornithology : or the Natural History of the Birds of the United States. 



