TANAGERS 
381 
eastern United States from Canada and Manitoba south to the Tennessee 
Mountains, and from the Atlantic west to the Plains; casually or occa¬ 
sionally to Colorado and Wyoming; winters in the West Indies, eastern 
Mexico, Central America, and south to northern South America; accidental 
in Bermuda. 
Nest. — On a horizontal branch, 10 to 30 feet from the ground, a flat, 
loose structure, made of stems and plant fibers, lined with fibers and root¬ 
lets. Eggs: 3 to 5, essentially like those of the summer tanager. 
Food. — Insects and wild berries. 
The songs of the tanagers have a strong resemblance, but their 
call-notes are very different. That of the scarlet tanager is a dis¬ 
tinctly enunciated chip-churr , and so unique that it will identify him 
when his glowing scarlet body and black wings and tail are hidden 
in the greenery. 
609. Piranga hepatica Swains. Hepatic Tanager. 
Upper mandible with tooth-like projection on cutting edge. Adult male 
in spring and summer: under parts scarlet, brownish on sides; ear cov¬ 
erts brownish , with white shaft streaks; crown bright red ; rest of upper 
parts dull red ; back and scapulars tinged with grayish brown ; lower man¬ 
dible bluish gray in life. Adult female in spring and summer: upper parts 
olive green, grayer on back ; under parts olive yellow, darker on sides. 
Adult male in fall and winter: back and scapulars more brownish gray ; 
red of under parts duller, some of the feathers with paler tips. Adult fe¬ 
male in fall and winter: like summer female, but brighter. Young , nest¬ 
ling plumage: streaked, on grayish olive above, pale buffy below; wings 
with buffy bars. Male: length (skins) 6.90-7.80, wing 3.96-4.13, tail 3.12- 
3.37, bill .66-.73. Female: length (skins) 6.90-7.74, wing 3.85-3.99, tail 
2.94-3.34, bill .67-71. 
Remarks. — The hepatic tanager may be distinguished from the Cooper 
by its dull grayish red back and the scarlet tone of its under parts, com¬ 
pared with the nearly uniform coloration and rose pink tones of the Cooper. 
Its gray cheeks are a good field character. The males are three years in 
acquiring the brilliant adult plumage, and breed in a mixture of the red 
and yellow of their parents. 
Distribution. —From southwestern Texas, central New' Mexico, and 
Arizona south to Guatemala. 
Nest. — On low oak branches, a slight structure made of coarse rootlets 
and dried plant stems, lined with finer materials. Eggs: 3 or 4, very pale 
bluish green, lightly spotted chiefly around larger end with browns and 
purples. 
In the wooded bottom of the Pecos River canyon, near where the 
river flows into the Rio Grande, we found the hepatic tanager in 
May, evidently at home and established for the summer. Its song, 
strikingly like that of the scarlet tanager, rang out so loud that 
across the river it seemed to be close at hand. The call was a single 
note. 
In the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, we found the beauti¬ 
ful bird quite common in the oaks and pines on the edge of the 
Transition zone, at about 6700 feet, especially on the rocky wooded 
hillsides. 
