Bill very short and thick, and light color. The male in summer is a dull black all over, with the exception of white wing-coverts. Their habits are similar to the above. They have a fine song, which they often give while on the wing, after the manner of the Bobolink. The female is a sparrow-like looking bird, mottled brown and white. They are birds of the plains, from Canada to Texas, occasionally in California and Colorado. Nest on the ground, laying four pale blue eggs (.85 × .65).
WESTERN TANAGER.
607. Piranga ludoviciana. 6½ inches.
Found from British Columbia to southern California, breeding in mountains. Three or four eggs, bluish green, spotted with brown (.95 × .75).
HEPATIC TANAGER.
609. Piranga hepatica. 7½ inches.
A pale colored bird as compared with the Scarlet Tanager of the east, lacking also the black wings of its eastern brother. The female is a pale yellow on the under parts and an olive above. Their range is throughout Arizona and into Mexico. The nest is built upon horizontal branches of trees at varying heights from the ground, and is made of twigs, grass and hair, usually a frail structure, in which they lay four eggs of a greenish blue, spotted with shades of brown (.92 × .64).
COOPER TANAGER.
610a. Piranga rubra cooperi. 7 inches.