FRINGILJ-IU.E — THK Fl.NCUKS. 455 



and became of a greeiiisli-yellow. In May and June, its song, though 

 not so loud as that of some birds, was extremely clear, mellow, and sweet. 

 This song it warbled out for tlie whole morning, and also imitated the notes 

 ol' a Cardinal, that hung near it. It became exceedingly tame and familiar, 

 and when in want of food or \\ater, uttered a continual melanclioly and 

 anxious note. 



In the winter of 18o5, and for several following seasons, these binls were 

 exceedingly abundant in the vicinity of Boston. They appeared early in 

 December, and remained until quite late in March, feeding chieliy on the 

 berries of the red cedar. They were so unsuspecting and familiar that it was 

 often possible to capture them alive in butterfly-nets, and to knock them down 

 with poles. Large numbers were destroyed and brought to market, and many 

 were taken alive and caged. They were tame, but unhappy in confinement, 

 littering mournful cries as the warm \\'eather approached. In the winter 

 of 1S69-70 they again made their appearance in extraordinary numbers, 

 in a few localities on the sea-coast of Massachusetts, where they did con- 

 siderable damage to the fruit-huds of the apple and pear. 



Sir Jolai Richardson states tliat this bird was not observed by his expedi- 

 tion liiglier than tlie (jt^th jiarallel. It lives, for the most part, a very retired 

 life, in the deepest recesses of the pine forests, where it passes the entire 

 year, having been found by Mr. Drage, near York Fort, on the 25th of Janu- 

 ary, 1747. Richardson adds that it builds its nest on tlie lower branches of 

 trees, and feeds chiefly on the seeds of the white spruce. 



Dr. Coues speaks of it as not at all rare along the coast of Lalirador, where 

 lie ol)tained several sj^ecimens. It was confined entirely to the thick woods 

 and patches of scrubby juniper. A female remained unconcernedly on a 

 twig after he had shot her mate, uttering continually a low soft slup, like 

 that of the Fox-colored Sparrow. Another note was a prolonged whirring 

 chirrup, uttered in a rather low tone, apparently a note of recognition. 



A lady resident in Newfoundland informed ilr. Amlubon that she had 

 kept several of these Grosbeaks in confinement, that they soon became very 

 familiar, would sing during the night, feeding, during the summer, on all 

 kinds of fruit and berries, and in the winter on different seeds. Mr. Audu- 

 bon also often observed that, wlien firing at one of their number, the others, 

 instead of flying away, would move towards him, often to within a few feet, 

 and remain on the lower branches of the trees, gazing at liim in curiosity, 

 entirely unmingled with any sense of their own danger. Mr. Audulion quotes 

 from Mr. jNIcCulloch, of Pictou, an interesting account of the haljits of one 

 of these birds, kept in confinement. The winter had been very severe, the 

 storms violent, and, in consequence of the depth of snow, many birds had 

 perished from hunger and cold. Tlie Grosbeaks, driven from the woods, 

 sought food around the barns and outliouses, and crowded the streets of 

 Pictou. One of these, taken in a star\ing condition, soon became so tame as 

 to feed from his hand, lived at large in his chamber, and would awaken him 



