THE AUDUBON BU li 
SCARLET T ANAGEI 
by Mable M. Amido: 
A spot of brilliant scarlet swished up—fror 
nowhere it seemed—to near the tip of the old tal 
new-leafed maple in our back yard. The scarlet spc 
is momentarily out of sight. A loud deep-tone 
musical whistle-song follows. The notes float ou 
into an early hour of one of Arlington's warmin 
April days. 
We walk cautiously around the tree at its bas 
looking up between the branches for the whistle: 
He is hidden. No, there he is! A Scarlet J anage 
The contrast between the bright scarlet body and th 
uniform deep black of wings and tail shows u 
sharply. 
How beautiful he is, and how wonderful t 
hear. He is not afraid up there—he whistles agai 
and again. The call is heard! A dozen or mo 
companions, male and female, flash in, still eag 
after their recent migration from the tropical soutl 
The males are in vivid coloring, which is the 
spring breeding apparel. The females have the 
usual somber but lovely olive and yellow-greens. 
Like that first newcomer to this [Hlinois bac 
yard tree, his followers also seem to want to hic 
themselves, but by watching closely, we can si 
some of them flitting from twig to twig way U 
high. The males, the music makers take turns whis 
ling. Perhaps they are looking for suitable plac 
to nest. They love the high nest. They are som 
times called the tree-top birds. 
In May, they can be heard whistling eager! 
while exploring topmost branches of blossomit 
apple trees, while in summer months they sway - 
the tips of tall full-leafed poplars and elms ar 
others. 
