; SUMMER RED-BIRD. 65 
of May. In the month of August, of the same year, being in the 
woods with the gun, I perceived a bird of very singular plumage, 
and having never before met with such an oddity, instantly gave chase 
to it. It appeared to me, at's small distance, to be sprinkled all over 
with red, green, and yellow. After a great deal of difficulty — for the 
bird had taken notice of my eagerness, and had become extremely shy 
—I succeeded in bringing it down; and found it to be-a young bird 
of the same species with the one I had killed in the preceding May, 
but less advanced to its fixed colors; the wings entirely of a greenish 
yellow, and the rest of the plumage spotted, in the most irregular 
manner, with red, yellow, brown, and greenish. This is the Varie- 
gated Tanager, referred to in the synonymes prefixed to this article. 
Having, since that time, seen them in all their stages of color, during 
their residence here, I have the more satisfaction’ in assuring the 
reader that the whole four species mentioned by Dr. Latham are one 
and the same. The two figures in our plate represent the male and 
female in their complete plumage. 
The food of these birds consists of various kinds of bugs, and large 
black beetles. In several instances, I have found the stomach en- 
tirely filled with the broken remains of humble-bees. During the 
season of whortleberries, they seem to subsist almost entirely on these 
berries ; but, in the early part of the season, on insects of the above 
description. In Pennsylvania, they are a rare species, having myself 
sometimes passed a whole summer without seeing one of them; 
while in New Jersey, even within half a mile of the shore opposite 
the city of Philadelphia, they may generally be found during the 
season. : 
The note of the male is a strong and sonorous whistle, resembling 
a loose trill or shake on the notes of a fife, frequently repeated; that 
of the female is rather a kind of chattering, approaching nearly to the 
rapid pronunciation of chicky-tucky-tuck, chicky-tucky-tuck, when she 
sees any person approaching the neighborhood of her nest. She is, 
however, rarely seen, and usually mute, and scarcely to be distin-, 
guished from the color of the foliage at a distance; while the loqua- 
city and brilliant red of the male make him very conspicuous; and 
when seen among the green leaves, particularly if the light falls 
strongly on his plumage, he has a most beautiful and clegant appear- 
ance. It is worthy of remark, that the females of almost’ all our 
splendid feathered birds are dressed in plain and often obscure colors, 
as if Providence meant to favor their personal, concealment, and, con- 
sequently, that of their nest and young, from the depredations of birds 
of prey; while, among the latter, such as Eagles, Owls, Hawks, &c., 
which are under no such apprehension, the females are uniformly cov- 
ered with richer-colored plumage than the males, ° 
The Summer Red-Bird delights ina flat, sandy country covered 
with wood, and interspersed with pine-trees, and is consequently more 
numerous towards the shores of the Atlantic than in the interior. In 
both Carolinas, and in Georgia and Florida, they are in great plenty. 
In Mexico some of them are probably resident, or, at least, winter 
there, as many other of our summer visitants are known to do. Inthe 
Northern States they are very rare; and I do not know that they have 
been found either in Upper or Lower Canada. Du Pratz, in his His- 
’ 6 * 
