SCARLET TANAGER (Piranga erythromelas) Tanager family
Called also: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER;
POCKET-BIRD
Length -- 7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
robin.
Male -- In spring plumage: Brilliant scarlet, with black wings
And tail. Under wing coverts grayish white. In autumn: Similar
To female.
Female -- Olive-green above; wings and tail dark, lightly
Margined with olive. Underneath greenish yellow.
Range -- North America to northern Canada boundaries, and
southwardin winter to South America.
Migrations -- May. October. Summer resident
The gorgeous coloring of the scarlet tanager has been its snare and
destruction. The densest evergreens could not altogether hide this blazing
target for the sportsman's gun, too often fired at the instigation of city
milliners. "Fine feathers make fine birds" -- and cruel, silly women, the
adage might be adapted for latter-day use. This rarely beautiful tanager,
thanks to them, is now only an infrequent flash of beauty in our country
roads.
Instinct leads it to be chary of its charms; and whereas it used to be one of
the commonest of bird neighbors, it is now shy and solitary. An ideal resort
for it is a grove of oak or swamp maple near a stream or pond where it can
bathe.
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