The Western Tanager 



her on her laborious trips after nesting material, cooing amiable nothings, 

 and oozing approval at every joint, — but help her? — nevaire! 



The nest is quite a substantial affair though rather roughly put to- 

 gether, of fir twigs, rootlets, and moss, with a more or less heavy lining of 

 horse- or cow-hair, and other soft substances. The four eggs of bluish 

 green, dotted and spotted with lavender and dark greenish slate, appear 

 especially handsome from above, when viewed against the dark brown 

 nest. But, as everybody knows, the red fir (Psendotsuga taxifolia) is a tree 

 of moods and tenses. You may dangle with impunity from the very tips 

 of the branches of some fir trees, while a step from the trunk is fatal in 

 others of the same general appearance. The Tanagers are quite as apt 

 to patronize the brittle kind. 



In California nesting dates are everywhere complicated with ques- 

 tions of altitude. The nest with three eggs taken by Mr. Ralph Arnold on 

 the 5th of May, 1895, seems to be the earliest record, and a truly remark- 

 able one, seeing that the migrant birds have scarcely cleared by that time, 



Taken in Modoc County 



NEST AND EGGS OF WESTERN TANAGER 



THE SITUATION OF THE NEST IS SHOWN IN THE PRECEDING CUT 



Photo by the Author 



436 



