378 
PASSERIFORMES 
607. Western Tanager. Louisiana tanager. crimson-headed tanager. le. 
tangara de l’ouest. Piranga ludoviciana. L, 7. Plate LX XV B. Male in spring: 
bright lemon-yellow with crimson head and black saddle, wings, and tail; in autumn, 
with only traces of the crimson on head. Female and juveniles: dull yellow-green, yellow- 
ing on breast and below, with brownish wings and tail. 
Distinctions. Male most like a bright male oriole, but with crimson or nearly solid 
yellow head, without black crown or l ib. Females and juveniles with characteristic 
tanager bill (Compare Figures 465 and 462) and greener and less orange than female orioles. 
Females are more difficult to separate from female Scarlet Tanagers. Geographical range 
is a good guide, as the latter is not regularly found west of Manitoba nor the former east 
of western Saskatchewan. The Western female is not as clear a green above, the back 
is noticeably darker than the crown and nape, instead of being evenly coloured with 
it, and it has distinct white wing-bars that are absent in the Scarlet Tanager. 
Field Marks. The spring male, a black and yellow bird with a crimson head, is 
unmistakable. Female and juvenile: evenly dull greenish birds, a little larger than an 
English Sparrow. Much more sluggish and iess agile than the orioles. The characteristic 
note of the Western Tanager is an oft-repeated, quickly uttered “Prickly dick.” 
Nesting. Nest, in trees or bushes, of twigs, rootlets, and moss, lined with soft material. 
Distribution. Western North America. In Canada, east to western Saskatchewan, 
north to Mackenzie Valley. 
One of the showiest of our western birds. Though not as spectacular 
as the Scarlet Tanager, it is much like it in general habit. It has a pleasant 
little song, suggesting the rolling syllables of the robin, but more continuous. 
Economic Status. The food of the Western Tanager is composed 
mostly of insects, many of them of harmful species. It may, at rare inter- 
vals, take an appreciable amount of small fruit, but the good it does far 
outweighs the occasional damage. 
60S. Scarlet Tanager. red bird, fire bird, war bird, le tangara ecarlate. 
Piranga erythromelas. L, 7-25. Plate LXXVI A. Spring male: a brilliant scarlet all 
over except wings and tail which are intense black. Female: dull greenish yellow, lighten- 
ing to yellow on breast and underparts. Male, both adult and juvenile, in autumn similar 
to female, but with wings and tail black. 
Distinctions. The intensely brilliant scarlet spring male, with sharply black wings and 
tail, is unmistakable. Female and autumn birds resemble female orioles, but are greener 
and with characteristic tanager notched bill (Compare Figures 465 and 462). They are 
more difficult to separate from the female and juvenile W estern Tanager. Geographical 
range is a good guide. Specimens from Manitoba are most likely to be this species. They 
are clearer green than birds of the Western species, and the back is the same colour as 
the head and nape. 
Nesting. Usually near the extremity of a branch on small tree in nest of leaves, 
strips of bark, etc. 
Distribution. Eastern North America. In Canada, west rarely to southern Manitoba, 
and has been known to occur in Saskatchewan. One record for Vancouver Island. 
The Scarlet Tanager shows remarkable seasonal and sexual plumage 
changes. In the spring the sexes are so entirely different that one wonders 
at their specific identity, and in the summer the brilliant scarlet male 
gradually assumes the dull green of his mate. In midsummer some moult- 
ing males, remarkably pied in scarlet and green, may be seen. 
The Scarlet Tanager is a bird of light woodlands, where large timber 
grows with a sprinkling of small underbrush below, but in spring it occasion- 
ally visits the orchard. On arrival in spring the Scarlet Tanager is a most 
conspicuous object, but as the trees put on their leaves it becomes cautious 
in exposing itself and if it were not for its distinctive note “ Chip-chur ” that 
attracts attention it would be most difficult to find. The song is cheerful, 
rhythmical, and fairly sustained, something like a Robin’s but more con- 
nected and not quite so clear. 
