I96 SCARLET TANAGER. 



Bnffon has afterwards confounded the two together, by apply- 

 ing many stories, originally related of the cardinal grosbeak, 

 to the scarlet tanager ; and the following he gravely gives as 

 his reason for so doing: "We may presume," says he, "that 

 when travellers talk of the warble of the cardinal, they mean 

 the scarlet cardinal, for the other cardinal is of the genus of 

 the grosbeaks, consequently a silent bird." * This silent bird, 

 however, has been declared by an eminent English naturalist, 

 to be almost equal to their own nightingale ! The Count also 

 quotes the following passage from Charlevoix to prove the 

 same point, which, if his translator has done him justice, 

 evidently proves the reverse : — " It is scarcely more than a 

 hundred leagues," says this traveller, " south of Canada, that 

 the cardinal begins to be seen. Their song is sweet, their 

 plumage beautiful, and their head wears a crest." But the 

 scarlet tanager is found even in Canada, as well as a hundred 

 leagues to the south, while the cardinal grosbeak is not found 

 in any great numbers north of Maryland. The latter, there- 

 fore, it is highly probable, was the bird meant by Charlevoix, 

 and not the scarlet tanager. Buffon also quotes an extract of 

 a letter from Cuba, which, if the circumstance it relates be 

 true, is a singular proof of the estimation in which the 

 Spaniards hold the cardinal grosbeak : — " On AVednesday 

 arrived at the port of Havannah, a bark from Florida, loaded 

 with cardinal birds, skins, and fruit. The Spaniards bought 

 the cardinal birds at so high a price as ten dollars apiece : 

 and, notwithstanding the public distress, spent on them the 



sum of 18,000 dollars !" f 



With a few facts more I shall conclude the history of the 

 scarlet tanager. When you approach the nest, the male keeps 

 cautiously at a distance, as if fearful of being seen ; while the 

 female hovers around in the greatest agitation and distress. 

 When the young leave the nest, the male parent takes a most 

 active part in feeding and attending them, and is then alto- 

 gether indifferent of concealment. 



* Buffon, vol. iv. p. 209. t Gmelli Careri. 



