TANAGERS. 



69 



all have passed on to their winter home in South America. The diek- 

 cissel is a most useful bird on the farm, destroying large numbers of 

 grasshoppers, crickets, and other injurious insects. About one- 

 third of its food in summer consists of seeds, including a little grain. 

 Scarlet Tanager. Piranga erythromelas. 

 This brilliant tanager occurs as a summer resident in the northern 

 and western parts of Arkansas as far south as Faulkner County and 

 the Ouachita Mountains. The first migrants from the south arrive 

 at Helena about April 10 and in the fall the species departs in Sep- 

 tember and October. The first birds from farther north reached 



Fig. 3.— Br 



area of the scarlet tanager (Piranga erythromelas) in Arkansas. 



Delight on September 17. The species is recorded as breeding at 

 Heber, 1 Eureka Springs, and Clinton, and I found it in summer at 

 Mammoth Spring, Conway (one June 6), Chester, Pettigrew (com- 

 mon), and Rich Mountain (common). The last locality apparently 

 marks its southern limit as a breeder in the State. One male seen 

 at McGehee May 17 was probably a belated migrant. Scarlet 

 tanagers are lovers of oak woods, where they render valuable service 

 in the destruction of caterpillars, moths, and beetles. 

 Summer Tanager. Piranga rubra. 



The summer tanager is a common summer resident over the greater 

 part of the State, except on the higher mountains. It usually 

 arrives at Helena during the second week in April (earliest date, 



Widmann, O., Birds of Missouri, p. 199, 1907. 



