Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-10
Copyright by James ElversOn

% more beautiful picture can be seen
I'm than tanager perched on limb in
IL the woods amid the foliage, his scar
:, let figure cleaning like ruby in a
setting Of green; and then he is not so shy
but he will allow you to stand and admire
him.
The handsomest tanager I have ever seen
was young bird, already in full dress, but
before the colors Of his plumage had become
fixed.
1t was in the depth Of woodland, and l
had been attracted by the birds alarm-call IN
the trees above me. On looking up, what was
my surprise to see a tanager, with broad,
snow-white band encircling his scarlet body
near the centre, while a part of his wings
was beautifully spotted with black and white.
The pretty creaturel How l wanted to hold
nm IN my hand just for a minute!
Again you will be surprised at the dress Of
MRS. Scarlet Tanager. Clad in her modest
2 CARP OF olive green anil yellow, she looks
quite plain and demure beside her brilliant
mate; but If you were to question her as to
the reason of this difference of attire. l
fancy she would answer sharply:
i have the principal part of the work to do,
SIT. building the house and bringing up the
family, while my husband acts the gentleman
aha amuses himself with his music"
> and, as he does not deny the statement,
OF the matter
1t Is strange, though, that he does not sing
music.
His song is continuous MARBLE. slightly
> like. that of the brown thrasher, but it is a
crude, formless. almost tuneless performance.
Inc execution, as it is called, is poor and
his voice .lacks melody.
ctli. 1t Is unkind to criticise the tanager in
this way when he does the best he can. and
is SO willing TO use the few talents he has
confess that have once or twice heard him
sing tune in an orchard that was quite
pretty and very cheerful
His alarm-call is a curious one: Won will
never mistake 1t after You have once heard
It,: lie seems to say, "Chip-pern, chip-pern,"
with the accent on the second syllable Some
; times a part of the call seems to stick in
his throat; he will say Chip, chip!' several
times before ne is able to emit the second part.
When you hear this call in the spring, you
must iook for his nest, which you will usual,
sometimes in tall bush; but you must never
rob his house of its greenish blue and speckled
treasures. It would be a great loss to our
orehards and woodlands II the eggs should not
/, be Matched, for the birds not only Ornament
the trees. but also destroy many injurious in
sects. al
But what is that bird trying to hide himself
N the bushes! Ii you, bend low and peer
sharply under the tangle wood through the
deep shadows, you will see that his back is
bright tawny and his under parts white. thick.
ly spotted with dusky brown.
Its brown thrush you say
No, my friend, you are mistaken. The
brown thrush, or thrasher as he is generally
called, is of more reddish cast, and has a
longer tail and lither and slenderer body,
and darts from bush to bush in iuttering,
zig-zag flight.
This birds fore parts are quite heavy in
comparison with his hinder parts giving one
the impression that he is not well balanced
and might toppe over if he is not careful.
"Well. what is the birdy" you ask, little
impatiently.
It is the wood thrush, the far-famed wood
thrush.
Over the song of this bird, those charming
writers, John burroughs and Bradford Tor
reg, have gone into raptures.
There is peculiar sweetness and liquid
flow about it that you cannot appreciate ut
first; at least, such was my experience But
the oftener you hear it the better you will
like it. No grouping of letters or syllables
can represent it on paper, it consists of ouch
strange blending of notes.
Once heard, it cannot be forgotten; but it
must be heard before correct idea of it can
be formed. At first it may seem little la
bored, as if the notes were produced with an
effort; but presently its sad liquid sweetness
will capture your senses.