372 



FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



595. Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linn.). ROSE-BREASTED GROS- 

 BEAK. 



Adult male in breeding plumage. Head and upper parts black, except 

 for white rump and white markings on wings and tail ; under parts white, 



except for rose red patches on 

 breast and under wing-s. Adult 

 female : dusky brown, streaked ; 

 head with whitish median stripe 

 and superciliary ; under parts 

 grayish or buff y brown, streaked 

 on breast and sides : under w ing 



in 



coverts yellow. Adult male 

 /(inter plumage : wing's, tail, and 

 upper tail coverts as in sum- 

 mer ; upper parts reddish brown ; 

 head with buffy median crown 

 stripe, superciliary, and malar 

 .stripes ; back streaked with 

 black ; under parts brownish, 

 more or less streaked, and with 

 pale rose on breast and under 

 wing's. Young male in first winter : like adult winter male, but wing's, 

 rump, upper tail coverts, and tail brownish, tail without white ; wings 

 with white marking's reduced and ting-ed with brown ; chest, sides, and 

 flanks deeper brown and more heavily streaked ; chest with little if any 

 pink; under wing- coverts rose pink as in adult. Male: length (skins) 

 6.50-7.20, wing 3.85-4.10. tail 2.87-3.08. bill .59-.6<>. Female: length 

 (skins) 6.75-7.00, wing- 3. 75-3.08. tail 2.75-2.95, bill .61-.70. 



Distribution. Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones from 

 Canada south to Kansas, and from the Atlantic to Colorado ; winters in Cuba, 

 Central America, and northern South America ; accidental in California. 



Nest. A thin saucer-shaped structure made largely of wiry rootlets, 

 placed in bushes or low trees. Eggs : 2 to 4. bluish green or greenish blue 

 spotted with brown. 



Food. Potato bugs and other insects, with seeds, and buds and blossoms 

 of forest trees. 



While the female rose-breasted grosbeak is brown and streaked 

 like the female black-headed, the male is a rare beauty, the clear 

 black, white, and rose of his plumage being handsomer than the 

 black and brown of inelanorcjilmln. His song lacks the exquisite 

 finish of the westerner's, but is loud and musical and sung with a 

 joyous swing. His thin ccl\ like that of the black-headed, announces 

 him, whether he be in an apple-tree or hidden in a thicket by a river. 



596. Zamelodia melanocephala (.SV^'H.O. BLACK-HEADED 

 GROSBEAK. 



Adult male.-- l~nd< r /xirts cinnamon brown brightening 

 to lemon yellow on btiii/ and under iring corerta : upper 

 parts mainly black, with cinnamon brown collar and 

 rump, and sometimes brown stripes back of eye. through 

 middle of crown, and on back : winus and tail black, 

 wing's with two white bars and white patch at base of 

 quills, tail with white corners. Winter male: lighter 



Fig. 464. 



