234 SUMMER RED BIRD. 



clusters from every branch, from which, when they are fully ripe, a good 

 shake will make them fall in astonishing quantity. The skin is thick 

 and very tough," the pulp glutinous, but so peculiarly flavoured as to be 

 very agreeable to the taste. These grapes are eaten by most people, 

 although an idea prevails, in Lower Louisiana particularly, that the eat- 

 ing of them gives rise to bilious fevers. For my part, I can well say, 

 that the more I have eaten of them the better I have found myself; and 

 for this reason seldom lost an opportunity of refreshing my palate with 

 some of them in all my rambles. I am equally confident, that their juice 

 would make an excellent wine. Another absurd opinion prevails in 

 Louisiana, which is, that the Common Blackberries, however ripe and 

 pleasant, produce boils ; although the country people make use of a 

 strong decoction of the root as a cure for dysentery. 



Tanagea iESTivA, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 8S9— Lath. Ind. Om. voL L p. 422.— 

 Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 105. 



Summer Tanager, Lath. Synops. vol. iii. p. 820. 



Summer Red Bird, Tanagra estiva, Wtls. Amer. Ornith. voL i. p. 96, PI. vi. 

 fig. 3. Male, fig. 4. Female. 



Adult Male. Plate XLIV. Fig. L 



Bill rather short, robust, tapering, compressed, acute ; upper mandi- 

 ble a little convex in its dorsal outline, convex on the sides, the acute 

 edge slightly notched near the tip, which is a little declinate ; lower 

 mandible also a little convex in its dorsal outline, with the edges inflect- 

 ed. Nostrils basal, lateral, round. Head large. Body rather long. 

 Feet shortish ; tarsus compressed, anteriorly scutellate, about the length 

 of the middle toe ; outer toe united at the base to the middle one ; 

 claws arched, compressed, acute. 



Plumage soft, blended, glossy. Wings of ordinary length, the 

 second qmU longest. Tail slightly emarginate, of twelve acute feathers. 



Bill yellowish-brown above, bluish below. Iris hazel. Feet and 

 claws light greyish-blue. The whole plumage is vermilion, brighter on 

 the lower parts, excepting the tips and inner webs of the quills, which are 

 tinged with brown. 



Length 7^ inches, extent of wings 11 ; bill along the ridge ^, along 

 the gap 1 ; tarsus f . 



