THE SUMMER TANAGER 



{Piranga rubra.) 



Is there a more beautiful sight in all nature than a grove of orange trees laden with 

 fruit, starred with their delicious blossoms, and with flocks of Redbirds disporting themselves 

 among the dark glossy leaves? 



— Neltje Blanchan, in "Bird Neighbors." 



To those whose pleasure it is to live 

 in the realm of the Summer Tanager, 

 both he and his less brightly colored, 

 though beautiful, mate form one of the 

 most beautiful features of nature. He 

 is "the redbird par excellence, 33 and in the 

 estimation of many, the sweetest singer 

 of the tanager family. Frequenting 

 open woods, groves and orchards, his 

 brilliant colors flash in the sunlight as he 

 flies through the tree tops and alighting, 

 utters his cheerful musical call, chicky- 

 tucky-tuck. He means much to the 

 southern farmers who hear him say wet, 

 wet, wet, and they consider him a sure 

 prophet, whose voice is an indication of 

 rain. Its song, while louder and more 

 musical, very closely resembles that of 

 the scarlet tanager. Mr. Ridgway thinks 

 the song "equals in strength that of the 

 robin, but is uttered more hurriedly, is 

 more 'wiry,' and much more continued." 

 Its song-notes are not as sharp and seem- 

 ingly much less forced than those of the 

 scarlet species. Some observers have no- 

 ticed a resemblance in its song to that of 

 the patient red-eyed vireo. It is not 

 unlike the latter species, too, in its delib- 

 erate 'movements. Dr. Dawson has said 

 the Summer Tanagers "give one the im- 

 pression that they are taking a leisurely 

 summer vacation and have plenty of time 

 at their disposal." However, they are 

 expert insect catchers while on the wing. 



The Summer Tanager is a member of 

 a family which includes about three hun- 

 dred and fifty species. It is an Ameri- 

 can family and practically confined to the 

 tropics, only five of the species reaching 

 the United States. While nearly all the 

 tanagers possess a brilliant plumage, only 

 a few of the species are musical. Mr. 

 Chapman says, "The tropical species are 

 of a roving disposition and wander 

 through the forests in search of certain 

 trees bearing ripe fruit, near which they 

 may always be found in numbers." 

 Though the Summer Tanager spends its 



winters in the tropical climate of Central 

 and northern South America, its sum- 

 mer range extends through the United 

 States, east of the Great Plains, though 

 it is only common south of the fortieth 

 degree of latitude. It breeds through- 

 out its United States range. 



This Tanager bears several common 

 names, nearly all referring to its color. 

 The more common of them are: Red- 

 bird, Vermilion Tanager, Red Tanager, 

 Summer Redbird and Smooth-headed 

 Redbird. While this species will feed 

 upon wild fruits and insects in general, 

 its food largely consists of hornets, wasps 

 and bees. For this reason it is common- 

 ly called by farmers the Red Bee-bird. 



The male varies in color, for it is sev- 

 eral years before it attains the full adult 

 plumage. Immature males will show a 

 "mixture of red and yellow, in relative 

 proportions according to the age." In 

 fact, the young male resembles the fe- 

 male except that it is more brilliant in 

 color. The female may also have more 

 or less red in the color of its plumage. 

 One shot at Wheatland, Indiana, in 1881. 

 had the plumage "more than one-half 

 red, the red color being of greater ex- 

 tent, in fact, than on the male, which 

 was killed by the same shot ! The tint 

 of the red is very peculiar, however, be- 

 ing of dull Chinese orange, instead of 

 pure rosy vermilion, as in the male." 



The nest of the Summer Tanager is 

 not a particularly artistic structure. It 

 is usually shallow but quite firmly built. 

 The walls are constructed with wiry 

 stems of grasses and weeds and lined 

 with finer stems and tendrils. Sometimes 

 the walls are so thin that the eggs may be 

 seen through them. The nest is usually 

 placed near the extremity of a branch of 

 a tree near the edge of the forest, and is 

 generally from eight to twenty feet above 

 the ground. So frail is the nest that it 

 is usually destroyed by the early fall 

 winds. 



HHHHIBiH 



