Evening star., 1944-10-24
This and That
BIZ Charles Z. Trace1pell.

ARLINGTON, VA.
Dear Sir:
1--WE read your very interesting COL
umn for the past three years and have
been much enlightened in identifying
the birds
I'm early April of this year, during
a light shower, a very bright, firelike
red bird with solid black wings flew In
the branches Of holly tree in my yard.
During the shower the bird futtered
about, bathing in the rain drops as they
spattered through the branches Of the
tree.
"The beautiful firelike red plumage
of the bird looked something like
coal Of fire shifting among the fresh
green leaves and with the rain drops
glstening in the sun on the bird as 1t
fluttered about was one Of the most
beautiful sights in bird life I've ever
seen.
This bird was larger than q SPAR
row, but not as large as a robin. I'd
say nearer the size Of a cardinal. but it
was not cardinal.
Can you identify this lovely bird7
Sincerely, W. H. B."
This bird was the scarlet tanager.
Truly there is no more beautiful crea-
ture in existence.
The fiery quality of the feathers sets
it apart from every other songster which
comes to these parts.
The glowing, flamelike body and the
jet-black wings and tail bring a tropical
vividness to any neighborhood
Even the person unacquainted with
bird life knows at once that this is no
ordinary bird.
It is not usual in the sequence of color
phases 1t goes through, although few of
us will be able to see this.
DR.. Thomas Sadler Roberts in his
Bird Portraits in Color" has the fol-
lowing to say on this subject:
The interesting sequence of plumages
through which the male tanager passes
is well shown in the Illustrations. In
the striped nesting plumage the sexes
are alike. In the succeeding fall plumage
the male Is yellower and has browner
wings and tail than the female. In this
dress he goes to South America for the
winter. While there he acquires a pale
red BODY and black tail, retaining the
largely brown wings. In this garb he
comes North, mates ands breeds. Fol-
lowings the nesting season a full moult
occurs, after which the body is again
>yellowish-green and the entire wing be-
comes q clear black. Again he goes
South, appearing much like the female.
but both wings and tail are now black.
Again In the South he acquires a red
dress, this time a deeper scarlet. and
returns North arrayed in full adult
splendor. Twice year thereafter the
body color is changed-from scarlet to
yellowish-green in the North and from
yellowish-green to scarlet in the South.
each time passing through a dappled
stage
The careful reader Of this paragraph
may see that IN the tanager we have
bird OF parts and may realize that
some OF the odd-looking birds he sees,
but which he is not able to identify,
may be one OF the color phases described
by this authority.
An ornithologist has described the
scarlet tanager as "the guardian of the
oaks" on account Of the insects he eats.
Hairy caterpillars and other larvae.
moths. weevils, click beetles and leaf
beetles, flies, bugs, ants, grasshoppers-
tnese are few OF the things he keeps
from hurting trees.
This tanager is Z inches long. The
summer tanager, which is red but not
so glowing, with gray-brown wings is
slightly longer.
One difference between these two tan
ayers hereabouts is that the scarlet
tanager is a common summer resident.
whereas the summer tanager is a very
rare summer resident. In migration the
scarlet form may be seen from April
to October, whereas the summer form
N seen, II 1t ALL between May and
September.