1 8 Bird Portraits 



some Orioles. They altogether neglected the orphan, and as it 

 refused to be fed by Wilson, the latter was about to return it to the 

 woods, when a male appeared and tried to enter the cage. Finding 

 this impossible, he went off, but returned with food and fed the 

 young one for three or four days. At last, he showed so unmis- 

 takably his desire for the release of the young one that the owner 

 set it free, and the two flew off rejoicing. If this Tanager was a 

 type of his kind, the species need not fear the application of the 

 proverb, " Handsome is that handsome does." 



Tanagers arrive early in May, and may then be easily observed, 

 as the trees are not yet in full leaf. Occasionally, in cold storms, 

 all birds seem to keep near the ground, and on such occasions 

 Tanagers are sometimes seen feeding on the ground itself, their 

 splendid colors showing to wonderful advantage. The female is a 

 very plain personage. Olive green above and greenish yellow below, 

 with dull brownish wings, is a combination of color that serves very 

 well to keep her concealed among the leaves. The nest is sometimes 

 placed in orchard trees or even in low bushes, but frequently in tall 

 oaks. It is loosely built of straw and twigs, and contains, by the 

 end of May, from three to four eggs of a light greenish blue, marked 

 with brown and lilac. The young are fed on insects gathered from 

 the leaves. By the end of the summer, the male moults his bright 

 red feathers and comes out in a suit resembling that of the female, 

 but he keeps his black wings and tail. The whole family, clothed 

 in these inconspicuous colors, migrate southward and remain in the 

 tropics till the following spring. 



