410 Birds of Colorado 
double wing-band ; below dull yellowish, becoming brighter on the 
centre of the breast and the under tail-coverts ; size about the same 
as the male. A young female is still duller in colour. A young male 
has no crimson on the head, and resembles the female but is rather 
brighter in tone. 
Distribution. Breeding in western North America from the eastern 
base of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and from British Columbia. 
southwards ; in winter south over the greater part of Mexico to the 
highlands of Guatemala. 
This Tanager is a common summer bird in Colorado, breeding chiefly 
in the mountains from about 6,500 to 10,000 feet. It arrives about 
the middle of May at Colorado Springs. Aiken’s earliest date is May 
llth. About a fortnight later it moves up into the mountains, coming 
down to the plains again early in September and leaving soon after, 
though taken by Aiken as late as October 14th at Pueblo (Henshaw). 
It is well distributed over the whole of the State except in the plains 
region east of the mountains. The following are some additional 
recorded localities: Estes Park (Kellogg), Idaho Springs (Trippe), 
Wet Mountains (Lowe), Fort Garland (Henshaw), Routt and Gunnison 
cos. (Warren), Glenwood Springs (Keyser), Mesa co. (Rockwell), La 
Plata co. (Morrison). 
Habits.—The Western Tanager keeps chiefly to high 
trees, the cotton-woods along the valleys at low elevations, 
the pine trees in the mountains ; Trippe describes them 
as rambling leisurely along through the pine woods and 
singing from the tree tops. They feed chiefly on insects, 
which they catch on the wing like a flycatcher, and also 
search for among the branches of the trees. 
The nest is generally built on the horizontal limb of 
a spruce or other conifer, upwards of twenty feet from 
the ground; Dennis Gale found fresh eggs about June 
15th at 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet in Boulder co. The eggs, 
three to four in number, are pale blueish-green, lightly 
spotted with browns and purples. 
Scarlet Tanager. Piranga erythromelas. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 608—Colorado Records—Cooke 97, pp. 168, 
217; H. G. Smith 02, p. 290; 08, p. 189 ; Rockwell 08, p. 174. 
