SCARLET TANAGER— CROWS 225 



bears a long crest of feathers. Most of the plumage 

 over the entire body is a deep rich red ; darker in crest, 

 wings and tail, and the back is tinged with greyish. 

 The female is duller in colour than the male. Both 

 sexes have a charming song, that of the female being 

 even more pleasing in quality than her mate's. Inhab- 

 iting thickets and undergrowth, this bird contrives, in 

 spite of its brilliant colouration, to escape observation, 

 even when its rich rolling notes proclaim its near 

 presence. See Plate 17, Fig. 101. 



Tanagees 



The Tanagers form a group of New World birds, 

 numbering about three hundred and fifty species, and 

 very closely allied to the Finches. Indeed, the char- 

 acters which distinguish the two families are very 

 slight and technical. The Tanagers are birds of beau- 

 tiful and varied plumage, many of them being bril- 

 liantly coloured, and the females differ conspicuously 

 in colouration from the mal^. They are most abun- 

 dantly represented in tropical America, only five 

 species summering in the United States. The 

 Tanagers are woodland birds, feed chiefly upon insects 

 and fruit, and only a few species have any vocal 

 ability, most of them having very weak voices. 



A very beautiful species common in the eastern 

 part of this country is the Scarlet Tanager, also 

 known as the Blackwinged Redbird. The male bird is 

 a brilliant scarlet, with black wings and tail, while 

 the female is a light olive-green above, darkening on 

 wings and tail, and greenish-yellow below. Towards 

 the end of the summer the male begins to moult his 



