While the first object of the bird student is to learn to name birds I would again urge him to acquaint himself with at least the arrangement of the Orders and Families of our birds and their leading structural characters. (see [page 2].)

Having identified a bird, its family may always be determined by referring to its number in the systematic list of birds at the end of the book; and the more important characters of its Order and Family will be found in the synopsis of Orders and Families beginning on page 9.

Perching Birds Marked With Red

607. Louisiana Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). L. 7.5. Ad. ♂. Yellow; back, wings, and tail black, head more or less red. Ad. ♀. Above olive-green, head rarely red-tinged; below dusky greenish yellow; wings and tail brownish edged with greenish, two yellowish white wing-bars. Yng. ♂. Like ♀, but head and rump greener, underparts yellower. Notes. Call, clit-tuck; song, resembles that of [No. 608]. Range.—Western United States from the Plains to the Pacific; breeds from Arizona to British Columbia; winters in Mexico and Central America. 608. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga erythromelas). L. 7.4. Ad. ♂. Scarlet; wings and tail black. Ad. ♀. Olive-green, yellower below, wings and tail blackish brown, no wing-bars. Yng. ♂. Like ♀, but brighter, wing-coverts black. Ad. ♂, Winter. Like Yng. ♀, but wings and tail black. Notes. Call, chip-churr; song, a rather forced whistle, suggesting a Robin's song, but less musical, Look-up, way-up, look-at-me, tree-top; repeated with pauses. Range.—Eastern United States, west to the Plains: breeds from Virginia and southern Illinois north to New Brunswick and Manitoba; winters in Central and South America. 609. Hepatic Tanager (Piranga hepatica). L. 7.8. Bill large. Ad. ♂. Vermilion, back grayish; tail dull red. Ad. ♀. No wing-bars; above grayish olive; crown and tail greener; below dusky yellow. Yng. ♂. Like ♀. and variously intermediate between it and ad. ♂. Notes. Call, clut-tuck; song, like that of [No. 608], but somewhat more robin-like. Range.—From Guatemala north in spring to New Mexico and Arizona; winters in Mexico and Central America. 610. Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). L. 7.5; W. 3.8. Ad. ♂. Rosy red. Ad. ♀. 9. Olive-yellow above, dusky saffron below. Yng. ♂. Variously intermediate between Ad. ♂ and ♀. Notes. Call, chicky-tucky-tuck; song, resembles in form that of [No. 608] but is more musical and less forced. Range.—Eastern United States, west to the Plains; breeds from Florida and western Texas north to southern New Jersey, southern Illinois, and Kansas; winters in Central and South America. 610a. Cooper Tanager (P. r. cooperi). Similar to [No. 610], but larger; W. 4; bill more swollen, colors paler. Range.—"Breeds from southwestern Texas to the Colorado Valley, California, and from Arizona and New Mexico to northwestern Mexico; south in winter to western Mexico; casually to Colorado."

593. Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). L. 9; W. 3.7; T. 4.1. Ad. ♂. Forehead with a well-defined black band; feathers of back (except in worn plumage) tipped with olive-brown or olive-gray. Ad. ♀. Above olive-brown; crest, wings and tail dull red edged with olive-brown; throat and region at base of bill gray; breast buffy, sometimes tinged with red; belly whiter. Notes. Call, a sharp, insignificant tsip; song, a rich, sympathetic whistle, whe-e-e-you, whe-e-e, hurry-hurry-hurry, quick-quick-quick, and other notes. Range.—Eastern United States; resident from northern Florida and eastern Texas north to southern New York and Iowa. 593a. Arizona Cardinal (C. c. superbus). Largest of our Cardinals, L. 9.5; W. 4; T. 4.9. Ad. ♂. Paler, more rosy, than [No. 593]; margins to back feathers usually gray; black on forehead usually separated by base of culmen. Ad. ♀. Gray above like [No. 593c], but breast richer, much as in [No. 593d]; gray of throat more restricted and often confined to the chin. Range.—Southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. 593b. Saint Lucas Cardinal (C. c. igneus). Similar to [No. 593a], but smaller; W. 3.6; T. 4; ♂ with even less, sometimes almost no black on forehead; ♀ paler; gray on chin and about base of bill less defined. Range.—Southern Lower California. 593c. Gray-tailed Cardinal (C. c. canicaudus). W. 3.7. Ad. ♂. Red bright as in [No. 593d], but black on forehead narrower, usually separated by base of culmen. Ad. ♀. Grayer than ♀ of [No. 593], the edgings of wings and tail usually gray without an olive tinge. Range.—Texas, except western and northeastern parts, and northeastern Mexico. 593d. Florida Cardinal (C. c. floridanus). Smaller than [No. 593], W. 3.4; ♂ averaging deeper red; ♀ darker and richer in color, particularly on breast. Range.—Southern half of Florida. 594. Arizona Pyrrhuloxia (Pyrrhuloxia sinuata). L. 9; W. 3.6; T. 4.1. Ad. ♂. Gray; in fresh plumage washed with brownish; crest, wings and tail externally dull red; under wing-coverts, center of breast and of belly, throat, and region about base of bill, rosy red. Ad. ♀. Usually little or no red about bill or on underparts. Notes. Call, several flat, thin notes; song, a clear, straight whistle. (Bailey.) Range.—Northwestern Mexico, north to western Texas, southwestern New Mexico, and Arizona. 594a. Texas Pyrrhuloxia (P. s. texana). Similar to [No. 594], but bill larger; underparts averaging slightly grayer; red before eyes averaging duskier. 594b. Saint Lucas Pyrrhuloxia (P. s. peninsulæ). Similar in color to [No. 594], but decidedly smaller, with the bill larger; W. 3.4; T. 3.7. (Ridgw.) Range.—Cape Region of Lower California.

515. Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator leucura). L. 8.5; W. 4.6. Ad. ♂. Rosy red in varying amounts; belly gray; wings, tail and center of back feathers blackish brown; two white wing-bars. Ad. ♀. Gray, head and rump greenish; breast tinged with greenish. Yng. ♂. Like ♀, but with head and rump reddish. Notes. Song, sweet; in winter strong and cheery; in spring tender and plaintive. (Chamberlain.) Range.—Northeastern North America; breeds from New Brunswick and northern New England northward; winters south, irregularly, to southern New England, Ohio, and Manitoba, and casually to District of Columbia and Kansas. 515a. Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak (P. e. montana). Similar to [No. 515b], but decidedly larger, W. 4.8, and coloration slightly darker; the adult male with the red of a darker, more carmine hue. (Ridgw.) Range.—"Rocky Mountains of United States, from Montana and Idaho to New Mexico." (Ridgway.) 515b. California Pine Grosbeak (P. e. californica). Similar to [No. 515], but ♂ with red much brighter; feathers of back plain ashy gray without darker centers; ♀ with little if any greenish on rump. Range.—Higher parts of "Central Sierra Nevada, north to Placer County and south to Fresno County, California." (Grinnell.) 515c. Alaskan Pine Grosbeak (P. e. alascensis). Similar to [No. 515], but decidedly larger with smaller or shorter bill and paler coloration, both sexes having the gray parts of the plumage distinctly lighter, more ashy. (Ridgw.) Range.—"Northwestern North America except Pacific coast, breeding in interior of Alaska; south, in winter, to eastern British Columbia, Montana (Bitterroot Valley), etc." (Ridgway.) 515d. Kadiak Pine Grosbeak (P. e. flammula). Similar to [No. 515], but with much larger, relatively longer and more strongly hooked bill; wings and tail grayish brown instead of dull blackish. Range.—"Kadiak Island and south on the coast to Sitka, Alaska." (Ridgway.) 521. American Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra minor). L. 6.1; W. 3.4; B. .66. Tips of mandibles crossed. Ad. ♂. Red, more or less suffused with greenish or yellow. Ad. ♀. Olive-green, rump and underparts yellower. Yng. Resemble Ad. ♀. Notes. Calls, when feeding, a conversational twittering; louder and more pronounced when flying; song, sweet, varied and musical, but of small volume. Range.—Northern North America, chiefly eastward; breeds from northern New England (in Alleghanies from Georgia) north and west to Alaska; winters south irregularly to Virginia and Nevada; casually to South Carolina and Louisiana. 521a. Mexican Crossbill (L. c. stricklandi). Similar to [No. 521], but larger; W. 4; B. .78. Range.—"Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, west to the Sierra Nevada, and south through New Mexico, Arizona and the tablelands of Mexico to Guatemala." (A. O. U.)