The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-26
BIRDS OF INDIANA.
written for the Indianapolis Journal.
The Scarlet Tanaper,

age as InOuSn III would ignite the leaves,
says Thoreau. Once seen by child or man
TINS fiery apparition is never forgotten. In
South America and Mexico there are up
wards of 300 different species, from slender
billed and warbler-like varieties to those
| with stout conical bills and closely related to
the finches. Our single genus, Pyranga, has
stout sparrow-like bill. They are fruit and
insect eaters, and hence migratory. They
| live in woods, lay four or five dark speckled
eggs they nest in trees and are fair songsters.
The seasonal and sexual difference in color
are extreme. The male of our species,
| Pyranga Rubra, is brilliant scarlet, with
wings and tail black; the female is clear
green above, yellowish green below. They
are common spring and fall immigrants q
few remaining to breed.
| DIR, Coues makes them the text for brief
but vigorous onslaught upon the custom of
adjoining wearing apparel with natural his
tory specimens. l do not agree with him,
and see no reason why the skins of birds,
tiredies and butterflies are not as appropri-
ate and fitting ornaments as plants and flow
ers. He says: "These birds are famed for The
among the most-frequently exhibited in the
showcases of the bird-stuffers and milliners,
as well as on the headwear of fashionable
ladies, who have degenerated into walking
| advertisements of wretched taxidermy, in
! their rage for barbaric ornamen tation of their
| persons. The style used to be to wear plumes
| selected for their beauty of celebration or
| their gracefulness OF shape, but the itch of
| savagery has broken out with aggravated
! symptoms, to be satisfied with nothing short
j OF an pathological museum. l once count
| ed the feathers of no less than fifteen differ
ent kinds of birds on the dress of an Indian
squaw; but then her alleged husband had
one necklace of grizzly bears claws and an
other of human finger-tips; and circum-
stances alter cases, you know. 1t seemed to
me less singular than the case of another
| woman whom l examined with some care
shortly afterward, OH whose bosom rested a
| gllt-tipped tigers claw, from whose ears de-
! pended two claws of the same animal, in
whose hair nestled the greater part of the
external anatomy OF the bird known as the
shitepoke, and TO whose loins live poodle
dog was tied by long blue string. Such a
toilet, I think would be far more effective
with the rouge and lily-white in streaks,
instead of layers, and a fish-bone through
the nose. 1t is not that the tanagers are not
highly ornamental, but that they are some
| times out of place."
vantage is in the early Maywoods. 1 well
remember my first vision of this bird, and
| can sympathiZe with DIR. CoueS in his early
wonder, and take pleasure in presenting
these extracts from his Birds of the Col
orado Valley" a work only to be found on the
| shelves of naturalists. 1t was issued by the
Interior Department, and is not for sale, al
though one of the most desirable contribu-
| tions to American ornithology.
II hold this bird" says DIR. Coues, ''in par
ticular, almost superstitious recollection, as
being the very first of all the feathered tribe
| to stir within me those emotions that have
never ceased to stimulate and crafty my love
for birds. More years have passed than 1
| care to remember since a little child was
strolling through an orchard one bright
morning in june filled with mute wonder at
| beauties felt, but neither questioned nor I'M
derstood. A shout from an older compan-
| ion, There goes scarlet tanager' and the
child was straining eager, wistful eyes after
something that had flashed upon his senses
| for moment as if from another world, it
seemed so bright, so beautiful, so strange,
| What is a scarlet tanagerP unused the child
| whose consciousness had flown with the Won
derful appariton on wings of ecstacy; but the
bees hummed on, the scent of flowers foated
| by, the sunbeam passed across the green
sward, and there was no reply, nothing but
| the echo of a mute appeal to nature, stirring
| the very depths with an inward thrill. That
night the vision came again in dream
land, where the strangest things are truest
| and known the best; the child was startled
| by a ball of fire and famed to rest
| again by sable wing. The wax was soft
then, and the impress grew indellible. Nor
would blur it if could, not though the
| flight of years has borne sad answers TO reit-
| Grated questionings-not though the wings of
| hope are tipped with lead and brush the very
earth in soaring instead of scented sunlight"
Wecertainly owe great deal to the scarlet
tanager, if it only led Dr. Coues, this prince of
later ornithologists, to the study of Amer
lean birds. Audubon and Wilson took fire
in the same way, the latter from the red
| headed woodpecker, which so Kindled his en-
/ thusiasm that from the day he saw it his
life was turned to the study of birds.
We have also in southern Indiana the
sumner redbird, pyranga estiva. In this
species the male is bright rose red through
out; the wings little dusky. The female is
dull brownish olive. 1t is the size of the tan
ager, about seven inches long.
The red crossbill is one of our rarer red
birds. The male is dull brick red; the female
brownsh olive This and it's ally, the white
winged crossbill, are northern and mountain
birds about six inches long and are rare win
| ter visitants throughout the State. They
sometimes breed IN the pine woods Both
! species were abundant about Cincinnati the
winter OF 1S68-69. Fletcher Noe, the young
naturalist and taxadermist of this
city tells me he has taken
number of crossbills this winter.
| The Latin name of the genus cururostra
relates to the singular shaped and crossed
ma bibles with which they skillfully husk
out the seeds of the pine cones from their
| tough scales. The European species is the
subject of the poem translated by Longfel-
low from the German OF julius Mosen:
On the cross the dying Savior
Heavenward lifts his eyeids calm,
Feels, but scarcely feels a trembling
In his pierced and bleeding palm.
And by all the world forsalkeD,
Sees he how, with jealous care,
AT che ruthless nan of iron
little bird is striving there.
Qtainad with hlond and N avar tirfr0