134 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS a 
the flycatchers, in their eminent skill in fly-catching,®6 as oc- 
casionally displayed, and in their want of musical powers, for, 
though absurdly called ‘‘chatterers,” they are notably silent 
‘birds. Moreover, ‘their tarsus is not strictly oscine.” They 
are, however, gregarious. The common Cedar-bird may be 
taken as a type. 
I. PYRANGA 
(A) RuBRA. Scarlet Tanager. 
(Though locally distributed, a generally common summer- 
resident in southern New England.) 
Fig. 5. Scarlet Tanager (4). 
(a). About 73 inches long. 4, scarlet; wings and tail 
black. Q, olive-green above. Below, (greenish) yellow. 
(6). The nest is loosely constructed of straws, twigs, etc., 
and is usually placed from ten to thirty feet above the ground, 
generally in an oak-wood, but sometimes in an orchard or 
other place and in evergreens. Three or four eggs are here 
laid about the first of June, averaging -90X-65 of an inch | 
Ais It is to be remembered, however, that the birds of many families are very 
skilful in preying upon insects in the air, scarcely less so than the true flycatch- 
ers. 
