THE GROSBEAKS 



grove, and of searching diligently for the singer. She lo- 

 cated the tree from which the sound proceeded, and waited 

 patiently to see him "gaily flit from bough to bough"; 

 but no bird came into view. She went around the tree 

 until, to her delight, she discovered him sitting on the nest, 

 only a few feet from where she stood. He stopped sing- 

 ing when he saw her, but showed neither surprise nor fear, 

 and resumed his song after she went away. She realized 

 that she had had an unusually rare privilege. 



To hear a grosbeak's song at night is an experience 

 similar to that of listening to a nightingale in Europe, or 

 to a mockingbird in our South or West, singing by moon- 

 light. 



THE BLUE GROSBEAK 

 Finch Family — Fringillidoe 



Length: 7 inches; indigo bunting, 5^2 inches. 



Male: Body a deep blue, almost black on the back; chin and 

 cheeks black; bill heavy; tail black, edged with 

 blue; wings black, tipped with bright brown, giving 

 the effect of one broad and one narrow wing-bar. 

 Winter plumage, rusty brown mottled with blue. 



Female: Grayish-brown above, more or less washed with blue; 

 wings brown, barred with buff; under parts washed 

 with buff. 



Songf: A sweet grosbeak warble. 



Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from Missouri, 

 southern Illinois and Maryland, south to eastern 

 Texas, and northern Florida ; accidental in Wiscon- 

 sin, New England, the Maritime Provinces, and 

 Cuba; winters in Yucatan and Honduras, 



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