232 LOUISIANA TANAGER. 



out the whole forenoon, during which time our songster is busily engaged 

 in quest of such coleopterous insects and larvae as are to be found on the 

 young branches of the trees he frequents, and which require an assiduous 

 and long-continued search to gratify his wants. Of the female and nest we 

 are still ignorant, though they are in all probability very similar to those of 

 our other known species. We have not seen this bird as far south as Upper 

 California, though it may exist in the thicker forests remote from the coast, 

 which we had no opportunity of visiting." 



Mr. Townsend says that "this handsome bird is called Ik kok koot by 

 the Chinook Indians. It is rare on the banks of the Platte, but rather com- 

 mon in the woods and oak groves of the Columbia. None were seen after 

 leaving the Black Hills, until we reached the lower country. Its voice is 

 generally harsh, being a low and guttural churr, but it at times sings with 

 considerable spirit. The female is very silent and retired in her habits, and 

 is therefore seldom seen." 



Male, 7i, wing, 3||. 



Platte river. Columbia river. Common. Migratory. 



Louisiana Tanager, Tanagra ludoviciana, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. iii. p. 27. 

 Tanagra ludoviciana, Bonap. Syn., p. 105. 

 Louisiana Tanager. Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 471. 



Louisiana Tanager, Tanagra ludoviciana , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iv. p. 385; vol. v. 

 p. 90. 



Adult Male, in Spring. 



Bill rather short, robust, tapering, compressed toward the end, acute. 

 Upper mandible with its dorsal outline declinate and slightly convex, the 

 ridge rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges sharp, overlapping, with 

 two slightly prominent small festoons about the middle, and a distinct notch 

 close to the tip, which is a little declinate. Lower mandible strong, with 

 the angle short and wide, the dorsal line straight, the back broadly convex, 

 the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils round, basal. 



Head rather large, ovate, flattish above; neck very short; body ovate, 

 compact. Legs shortish; tarsus short, compressed, rather stout, with seven 

 anterior scutella, and two lateral plates forming an acute edge behind; toes 

 of moderate length; middle toe longer than tarsus, lateral toes much shorter 

 and equal, hind toe stout. Claws rather large, arched, much compressed, 

 acute. 



Plumage soft, blended; feathers of the head stiffish, with silky lustre; 

 bristles at the base of the upper mandible small. Wings of ordinary length, 

 the second quill longest, the first four having the outer web attenuated 



