Cambridge, Mass.
1912.
Nov. 7
[November 7, 1912]

A Tanager (P. erythromelas [Piranga erythromelas] (?)) visits our Garden

  Cloudy & oppressively warm with strong S.W. [southwest] wind & heavy rain in afternoon.
  Just before going in to dinner (at 1 P.M.) I was surprised to
see a [female] Tanager bathing at the brink of the little pond in our Garden.
Gilbert & I watched her for several minutes, standing within 15 ft. [feet] of her
in the doorway of the Museum. She was dull yellow beneath and 
brownish olive above showing no trace of greenish on the back but
having the rump strongly tinged with saffron yellow and the 
tail almost as reddish as that of a Hermit Thrush. The wings
were almost perfectly concolor with the back and without obvious 
blackish even at the tips of the primaries. Although the general
coloring of this bird was so unlike that of a [female] Scarlet Tanager and
so nearly like that of a [female] Summer Redbird that I took her at first
to belong to the latter species. In respect to general size and to the
size and shape of her bill, however, she seemed to more nearly 
agree with P. erythromelas [Piranga erythromelas] to which I finally referred her - rather doubtfully.
After finishing her bath she spent some time in a tupelo tree by the pond, 
fluttering & quivering her wings & shaking her tail. At length she flew 
off in the direction of Hubbard Park.