FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 451 



low bushes at Vancouver, and began to eat the seeds. Since then he had 

 only seen them flying high among the tops of the poplars, npon the seeds of 

 which they feed. They wore uttering their loud, shrill call-notes as tliey flew. 



The same writer, in his Eeport on the birds of California, makes mention 

 of the occuiTcnce of this Grosbeak at Michigan Bluffs, in Placer County, in 

 about latitude 39°. Specimens were obtained by j\Ir. F. Gruber, and were 

 probably the variety designated as montana. The same form doubtless 

 occurs along the sunmiits of the Sierra Nevada, and the}' have been traced 

 among the Eocky Mountains to Fort Thorn in New Mexico. 



These birds do not come down near the sea-coast even at the mouth of 

 the Columbia, and in California have not been met with in the Coast Range. 

 They are said to feed chiefly on the seeds of the pine, spruce, and cotton- 

 wood trees, occasionally seeking other seeds near the ground. They are 

 silent when feeding, but utter a loud call-note as they fly from place to 

 place. In spring, Dr. Cooper states, tliey have a short but melodious song, 

 resembling that of the Eobin or Black-headed Grosbeak. He afterwards 

 met with a flock in the winter near Santa Cruz, where they remained until 

 the end of April. Tiieir favoiite resort was a small grove of alders and wil- 

 lows, close to the town, where their loud call-notes could be heard at all 

 times of the day, though he never heard them sing. In the early spring 

 their favorite food was the young leaves of various wild plants tliat grew 

 under the trees. They also fed on the buds of the Najundo, and frequented 

 the large pear-trees in the old mission garden. They were very tame, and 

 allowed an approach to within a few yards, when feeding, ilr. Townsend, in 

 1836, found this Grosbeak abundant about the Columbia Elver. Late in 

 May they were quite numerous in the pine woods. They were very unsus- 

 picious and tame. Under the impression that these birds were only musical 

 towards night, they have been styled the Evening Grosbeak. But this, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Townsend, is a misnomer. He also contraverts several other 

 statements made in reference to their habits. He found them reniarkal)ly 

 noisy from morning until night, when they (piietly retire like other birds, 

 and are not heard from until the next day-dawn. They go in large flocks, 

 and are rarely met with singly. As they feed upon the seeds of tlie pine and 

 other trees, they proceed by a succession of hops to the extremities of the 

 branches. They also feed largely on the larvie of the large black ant, for 

 which object they fre([uent the tops of the low oaks on the edges of the 

 forests. Their ordinary voice is said to be a single screaming note, uttered 

 while feeding. At times, about midday, the male attempts a song, which Mr. 

 Townsend describes as a miserable failure. It is a single note, a warbling 

 call like the first note of the Eobin, Ijut not so sweet, and suddenly checked, 

 as if the jierformer were out of breath. 



Mr. Sumichrast met with the variety of this species designated as montana, 

 May, 1857, in tlie pine woods of Monte Alto, about twelve leagues from 

 Mexico ; and although he has never found it in the alpine region of Vera 



