Part 23

Range.—The Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. A sub-species (pulchra) is also found in Lower California and southern Arizona.

PAINTED BUNTING 601. Passerina ciris. 5½ inches

Male, vari-colored; female, greenish gray.

Without any exception, these are the most gaudily plumaged North American birds, but their colors have a harshness of contrast that renders them far less pleasing to the eye than many others of our birds. They are often caged, but in confinement soon lose the natural brilliancy of their plumage. Like the Indigo Bunting, they are found in thickets and hedges; their habits seem to be precisely like those of the last species.

Song.—Similar to that of the Indigo but lacking the brilliancy of that of the latter bird.

Nest.—Of grasses, leaves, strips of bark and rootlets, compactly compressed and woven together, situated at low elevations in thickets and low bushes; eggs whitish, specked and blotched with reddish brown (.78 × .58).

Range.—Southeastern U. S., breeding from the Gulf north to Virginia, Ohio and Kansas; winters in Central America.

MORELLET SEED-EATER 602. Sporophila morelleti sharpei. 4½ inches

The male of this interesting little species requires at least three years in which to obtain the perfect plumage as shown in our illustration. The majority of birds seen will be in intermediate stages of plumage between that of the adult female and this one. These little fellows are usually found in thickets or patches of briars and are quite tame.

Note.—During the breeding season the male has a sprightly song similar to that of the Indigo Bunting.

Nest.—The nests are made of fine grass and placed in bushes or young trees. The eggs are bluish green spotted rather evenly with brown (.65 × .48).

Range.—Southeastern Texas and southward into Mexico.

DICKCISSEL 604. Spiza americana. 6¼ inches

Male beautifully blended with yellow, white and gray, and with a black throat patch and brown shoulders; female duller.

In the middle portions of the U. S. these birds, or Black-throated Buntings, as they are commonly called, are very numerous, frequenting dry, bushy fields or prairies. They are very persistent songsters, although their song is weak and has little melody. In July and August, when many birds are silent, they continue their plaintive chant even on the most sultry days.

Song.—A simple chanting “chip, chip, che-che-che.”

Nest.—Either on the ground, in bushes or thistles, or in trees; of weeds, grasses, rootlets, corn husks, etc.; eggs four or five in number, plain bluish white and hardly distinguishable from those of the Bluebird; size .80 × .60.

Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf States north to northern U. S.; rare in the Atlantic States north to Connecticut.

LARK BUNTING 605. Calamospiza melanocorys. 7 inches

Male, black and white; female, brown and gray.

This species is often known as the White-winged Blackbird, not because it bears any resemblance to any of the Blackbirds, nor because any of the habits are the same, but simply because of its plumage. They are very gregarious and usually fly in flocks even in nesting time.

They seem to be very methodical and well trained; if one of a flock takes wing, the entire flock rises simultaneously and in a very compact body they fly until some leader chooses the next stopping place, when they as suddenly alight. They have the habit of Skylarks in mounting into the air while singing and then descending on set wings.

Song.—A very lively, sweetly modulated warble.

Nest.—On the ground, usually under a tuft of grass or small bush; four or five eggs of a bluish color (.85 × .65), brighter than those of the Dickcissel.

Range.—Western U. S., most abundant from Kansas to Colorado and north to Assiniboia.

SCARLET TANAGER 608. Piranga erythromelas. 7½ inches

Male, scarlet and black; female, greenish yellow and blackish.

These beautiful birds are found in open woods, but they often come out in fields, parks, orchards and sometimes in yards when feeding; one of the prettiest sights that I ever saw was of about a dozen of these birds tripping along the furrows of a ploughed field, where they were feeding on insects. Besides berries and seeds, they live upon quantities of insects, frequently catching them on the wing in true Flycatcher style.