THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK. 89 



are similar to those of the former, its food and the 

 manner of collecting it being the same. 



We will now conclude our observations among the 

 Finches by noticing three more birds, which, for 

 brilliancy of coloring, are perhaps unsurpassed by 

 any of our feathered friends, unless it be the Non- 

 pareil. 



The first is the Cardinal Grosbeak, that gay, active, 

 and showy bird, which we sometimes see during a 

 snow-storm, in company with the Snow Birds, flitting 

 about among the trees and bushes, uttering its sharp 

 chirp, and seeming to enjoy rather than lament the 

 rigors of the season. The plumage of this bird, un- 

 der whatever circumstances it is viewed, must ever 

 render it an attractive object. Whether seen through 

 the deep foliage of Summer, busily engaged with its 

 domestic concerns, or whether in a more inclement 

 season it rambles with freedom over the snow-clad 

 fields and through the leafless woods, its imposing 

 form, the lengthened crest by which its head is sur- 

 mounted, and its livery of fiery red, cannot fail to 

 arrest the eye. In richness of plumage and strength 

 of song, it is probably not surpassed by any of the 

 other American Grosbeaks. There are various names 

 by which it is known in the different sections of coun- 

 try it inhabits, such as Red Bird, Virginia Nightin- 

 gale, Cardinal Bird, etc. It is seldom seen to the 

 eastward, or north of the southern boundary of New 

 York, Southward from Maryland as far as Texas, 

 it appears to be a constant resident; some individuals 

 remaining during winter in the warmer parts of Penn- 

 8* 



