A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. — AP
I didn't notice the scarlet tanager until the alert appeared on my phone: "Merlin heard a new bird!”
Despite its brilliant plumage – jet-black wings on a crimson body – the songbird can be a hard one to spot in a forest because it prefers to stay high in the canopy. It sounds a little like a robin to an untrained ear.
