Pigmentation in the Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea

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Abstract
The seasonal differences in the pigment in the plumages of the male scarlet tanager are due to an oxidation and reduction of an oxygen-containing side chain on the cyclic part of a carotenoid pigment. The carotenoid pigment of the fall male is the same as that found in the female in both breeding and nonbreeding plumages. There are differences, however, in the molecules to which the carotenoid is esterified. The pattern of the plumage of P. olivacea is compared with other North American spp. of the genus Piranga.