Winter tanager

["Robert C. Perkins" <rperkins@infi.net>]

      I was home today, enjoying a breather between the Jordan Lake 
CBC yesterday and returning to work tomorrow.  Having family here 
this morning did not prevent me from spending some time observing 
birds in the backyard.  I used two tea kettles of boiling water to 
thaw out the bird bath and I put out a pine cone daubed with bacon 
grease to add to the "birdy" temptations.
      I was emjoying a procession of "normal" winter birds, including 
pine and yellow-rumped warblers, when a strange bird appeard at the 
bird bath and then disappeared before I could examine it with 
binoculars.  Fortunately it came back for a second visit and my wife 
spotted it.  I got a good look at it.  It was a tanager with a pale 
yellow bill, more beige than yellow.  The bird was olive on top and 
yellowish olive underneath.  The wings were darker than the body and 
showed definite but not prominent whitish wingbars.  The best match 
in my NG guide is female western tanager.  I also consulted Sibley, 
leading to the same conclusion.
      First, what is a tanager doing in the North Carolina sand hills 
in the winter?  Second, are there alternatives to western tanager 
that I might have missed?  The wing bars rule out summer tanager and, 
although the Sibley guide mentions that first year scarlet tanagers 
can have weak wing bars, the Sibley also notes incidences of western 
tanagers showing up in the east in the winter.
      In my log I've listed the bird as a western tanager.  However, 
I'm always open to good arguments.

Bob
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Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037     rperkins@methodist.edu