84 
The Scarlet Tanager 
‘‘As a caterpillar-hunter the bird has few superiors. It is often very 
destructive to the gipsy-moth, taking all stages but the eggs, and un- 
doubtedly will prove equally useful against the brown-tail moth. Leaf- 
rolling caterpillars it skillfully takes from the rolled leaves, and it also 
digs out the larvae of gall-insects from their hiding-places. Many other 
injurious larvae are taken. Wood-boring beetles, bark-boring beetles, 
and weevils, form a considerable portion of its food during the months 
when these insects can be found. Click-beetles, leaf-eating beetles, and 
crane-flies are greedily eaten. These beneficial habits 
are not only of service in woodlands, but they are 
exercised in orchards, which are often frequented by 
tanagers. Nor is this bird confined to trees, for during the cooler weather 
of early spring it goes to the ground, and on plowed lands follows the 
plow like the Blackbird or Robin, picking up earthworms, grubs, ants, 
and ground-beetles.” 
An Insect- 
Hunter 
Among the most interesting and important branches of bird-study is 
that of plumage and molt; in fact, without some knowledge of this sub- 
ject the student will make little progress in his acquaintance with birds. 
The Scarlet Tanager affords a striking example of the sexual differ- 
ences and serial changes observable in the plumage of many kinds of birds. 
The Tanager ’s scarlet-and-black uniform is worn only by the fully 
matured male bird, and his mate and their young are more soberly clad, 
as is represented on the plate accompanying this leaflet. These costumes 
vary much, also, according to age and the seasons of the year. 
When the nestling gets its first feathers its coat is greenish yellow, with 
brown, stubby wings and tail, and brownish stripes from the throat down 
to the legs. If the nestling is a female it gradually becomes much greener 
on the upper parts, while the striping disappears 
Changes m from the breast, which becomes a clear lemon-yellow, 
Plumage as? a j so , ^ ^ e( jg es 0 f the wing-quills and the tail- 
feathers ; and this remains her costume as long as she lives. 
But if the nestling is a male his costume-changes will be more com- 
plicated. By the time he has got his full growth, he has obtained a dress 
very similar to that of his mother, except that the feathers of the wings 
and tail are blacker, although edged with greenish yellow. This is his 
costume throughout his winter sojourn in the tropics. When spring 
comes, however, the male molts its dress, and gets that new coat of 
vermilion-scarlet, with fully black wings and tail, which everyone so 
much admires. 
Classification and Distribution 
The Scarlet Tanager belongs to the Order Passeres, the Sub-order 0 seines, 
and the Family Tangaridce. Its scientific name is Piranga erythromelas. Its range 
in summer extends northward to the southern border of Canada, and over all the 
United States east of the Rocky Mountains and north of the southern Alleghany 
Mountains. It winters in northwestern South America. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
