Bunting
Ad. 8. -Head and sides of the neck ashy gray; forehead tinged with yellow; a yellow line over the eye and one on the side of the throat; a black patch on the throat; chin white; breast yellow, spreading down on to the white belly; back streaked with black and pale grayish brown; rump brownish ash; lesser wing-coverts rufous; wings and tail fuscous. Ad. q.- Similar, but the head grayish brown, streaked with blackish, and with no black patch on the throat FIG. 88.--Dickcissel. (Natural size.) and less yellow on the breast, which is sometimes lightly streaked with black. Ad. in fall. -Much brighter, and with some rufous in the back. L., 6.00; W., 3-20; T., 2·35; B., 55.
Range.-Eastern United States, mostly in the Mississippi Valley; breeds from Texas to Minnesota; winters in Central and South America; breeds east of the Alleghanies now only rarely and locally. Washington, very rare S. R., a few seen each year; formerly "very abundant." Cambridge, casual, found nesting at Medford, June 9, 1877, where TANAGERS. several birds were observed; not uncommon in 1833-134 (see Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, iii, 1878, pp. 45, 190).
Nest, bulky, of coarse grasses and leaves, lined with finer grasses and sometimes long hairs, on the ground or in low trees or bushes. Eggs, four to five, pale blue, 80 x 60.
Thirty to forty years ago these birds were more or less common in the middle Atlantic States, but they are now of rare occurrence east of the Alleghanies. In Texas I have seen them migrating in closely massed flocks of several hundred individuals, all silent, except for an occasional cack. They alight on the prairie to feed; birds in the rear are constantly arising and passing to the front; there is ceaseless motion. In the summer Dickcissel makes his home in grassy fields and pastures, and from a weed stalk or bordering fence, with uplifted head, he announces his presence as though life itself depended on his vocal exertions. It is a poor song from a musical standpoint, but pleasing because of the singer's earnestness:
The LARK BUNTING (605. Calamospiza melanocorys), a western species, has been recorded from Massachusetts, Long Island, and South Carolina. FAMILY TANAGRIDE.
TANAGERS.
The Tanagers form a distinctively American family, and are most abundant in the tropics. About three hundred and fifty species are known, of which only five reach the United States. They are remarkable, as a whole, for the brilliancy of their plumage, and our Scarlet Tanager is therefore no exception to the rule. They are arboreal and for the most part forest-inhabiting, feeding on flowers, fruit, and insects. The tropical species are of a roving disposition, and wander through the forests in search of certain trees bearing ripe fruit, near which they may always be found in numbers. As a rule they are not musical. A few species have more or less pleasing songs, but the voices of the majority are weak and squeaky. KEY TO THE SPECIES.
A. With red in the plumage. a. Wings and tail black. b. Wings and tail like the body.
B. Without red in the plumage. 608. SCARLET TANAGER 6. 610. SUMMER TANAGER 8. a. Under parts, including under wing-coverts, dull buffy yellow. 610. SUMMER TANAGER 9. 608. SCARLET TANAGER 9. 6. Under parts greenish yellow, under wing-coverts white. 1 TANAGERS. 608. Piranga erythromelas Vieill. SCARLET TANAGER. (See Fig. 48.) Ad. 8. - Bright scarlet, wings and tail black, under wing-coverts white. Ad..- Upper parts light olive-green; wings and tail fuscous, lightly margined with olive-green; under parts greenish yellow. Im. & and Ad. 8 in winter.-Similar to the q, but wings and tail black. L., 7.25; W., 3-75; T., 2.09; B. from N., 46.