A TRIBE OF WEED WARRIORS 205 



" Indeed there are ! Did I not say that there were 

 both Quakers and soldiers in it ? " said the Doctor. 

 " For in addition to the Goldfinch there is a bright-blue 

 cousin and a red one." 



" What are their names, and shall we see them 

 here ? " cried Dodo. 



" You will learn their names very soon. The blue 

 one now has a nest across the meadow, and the red one 

 makes us a visit every autumn ; but you must stop 

 asking questions if you want to hear about them 

 to-day. 



" The first of the Finch family is a bird you will 

 only see in the winter, and not even then if you are 

 living further south than the middle range of States. 

 It is called the Pine Grosbeak." 



THE PINE GROSBEAK 



" This bird has a great heavy beak, that makes him 

 look rather stupid ; in fact, this beak gives him the name 

 of Gros-beak, which means the same as Great-beak. 

 He loves the pine woods of Canada and builds his nest 

 among them, only a little way above the snow that still 

 covers the ground at the early season when this bird 

 begins housekeeping. 



" When the northern winter is very severe. Pine 

 Grosbeaks gather in flocks and scatter through the 

 States. But you must not expect to see a whole flock 

 of beautiful strawberry-red birds, for only the old males 

 are red ; the females are dull gray and yellowish, while 

 the young males look like their mothers, and do not 

 wear their gay coats until they are two years old. 



