THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY
Scarlet Tanager
(Piranga erythromelas) Tanager family
Called also: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER; POCKET-BIRD
(Illustration facing p. [199])
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 southward in 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.