Voined the Choir Invisible

Got to work and had a co-worker tell me he just saw a dead bird in the smoking area. I asked for him to describe it and as usual, non-birders tend to be unsure of what they actually saw.

"Kind of yellow," was about all I got. I asked how big. The size he showed me was bigger than what I had a theory about. Suddenly, I was now thinking Tanager instead of warbler.

I hurriedly grabbed my camera and asked him to show me where it was. He had moved it to a trash can so I dug it out as a few smokers looked on in a mixture of interest and disgust. I had to explain that I band birds and wanted a photo of whatever had met it's fate.

Sure enough, a first year Scarlet Tanager. If it would have survived it would eventually turn a brilliant scarlet red. However, these tinted windows of our complex can often seem like a straight path through the trees to some birds.

Looks almost alive, eh?



Alas, another victim of man-made illusions.