"Painted" Bunting he is called, but the brilliancy and luster of his plumage were not painted by human hands. 'Nonpareil' he has also been named, and, in the eastern United States, at least, he is without equal in the brightness of his colors. The bird's haunts are not unlike those of the Indigo Bunting, and its song is said to resemble the Indigo's but to be more feeble. It builds in bushes and low trees, laying 3-4 bluish white, brown-spotted eggs in May.
DICKCISSEL
Spiza americana. [Case 7], Fig. 20
The yellow on the breast and, in the male, black crescent will distinguish this species from all its Sparrow kin. L. 6.
Range. Chiefly prairies of the Mississippi Valley, from Texas and Mississippi north to Minnesota and southern Ontario; now rare east of the Alleghanies.
Washington, formerly "very abundant," now seen only occasionally, May-Aug. Cambridge, casual, found nesting at Medford, June 9. 1877, where several birds were observed; not uncommon in 1833-34 (see Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, III, 1878, 45. 190). N. Ohio, rare S.R., May 1. Glen Ellyn, rather rare and local S.R., formerly common. May 3-Sept. 5. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 11-Aug. 20.
The Dickcissel is a bird of the fields who, from a weed-stalk or fence by the wayside, sings his unmusical dick-dick cissel, cissel, cissel. The nest is built on the ground or in a bush and the 4-5 pale blue eggs are laid the latter half of May.
TANAGERS. FAMILY TANGARIDÆ
SCARLET TANAGER
Piranga erythromelas. [Case 7], Figs. 27, 28
The black wings and tail of the male will distinguish him from our other two red birds—the Cardinal and Summer Tanager. The olive-green female may be known from all our other olive-green birds by her larger size. L. 7¼.