BIRDS OF NEW YORK 339 



found it in hemlocks and pines. It is loosely constructed of fine twigs, 

 very often the dead twigs of the hemlock being chosen, and is lined with 

 finer twigs and rootlets, but is frequently so loosely put together that 

 when viewed from the ground the eggs may be seen through the nest. 

 These are usually 4 in number, of a bluish green ground color rather thickly 

 speckled and spotted with reddish brown and lilac. They average about 

 ■95 by .67 inches in dimensions. I have never seen a male tanager incu- 

 bating the eggs, but he invariably appears when his mate is driven from 

 the nest or raises an alarm, and flies about in the immediate vicinity, utter- 

 ing his " chip, churr," and buzz of complaint. He is frequently seen 

 sunning himself on the tops of dead trees in the forest, or on the edge of 

 a ravine, and warbling from his perch at intervals throughout the forenoon, 

 but he is not a continuous singer like some of the vireos and warblers. 

 During the latter part of July and the first half of August, tanagers, like 

 most birds, seem to go into seclusion. The moult, however, is completed 

 about the last of August and after that season the males are seen in their 

 winter plumage. During August, specimens are frequently noticed which 

 are covered with patches of scarlet and regarded by the uninitiated as 

 some new species of bird. 



Piranga rubra rubra (Linnaeus) 

 Summer Tanager 



Plate 87 



Fringilla rubra Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 1:181 

 Pyranga aestiva DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 175, fig. 148' 

 Piranga rubra rubra A. 0. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 289. No. 610 



rubra, Lat., red 



Description. Male: Entire plumage rosy red, brick red or vermillion, 

 the hidden portion of the wings and tail being dusky. The shade of red 

 depends considerably upon the age of the bird. Female: Dull brownish 

 olive; under parts brownish yellow. Young males resemble the females. 



Length 7.5 inches; wing 3.75; tail 2.9; bill .55. 



Distribution. The Summer tanager inhabits the eastern United States 



from Florida to southern New Jersey and wanders casually as far north 

 22 



