ROSE-BBEASTED GROSBEAK 167 



catclier, the trill of the Chipping Sparrow, the 

 shrill twittering of passing Swifts, the pipe of 

 the flashing Oriole, and the rieli ronnded pendu- 

 lum song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Except 

 perhaps the Oriole's, it is the loudest and most 

 musical of all the many songs, and may be easily 

 traced to its source — often in the dense green of 

 an apple-tree top. If the song stops before you 

 have sighted your bird, he may be found by the 

 odd thin ick^ eek^ or i^eek which is his character- 

 istic call. The first glimpse of his black head 

 and the rose-colored patch on his breast is enough 

 to identify him ; while the large, streaked brown 

 bird who flies away with him may be recognized 

 by her size, — she is too large for a Sparrow, — 

 by the white line over her eye, and by her abnor- 

 mally large beak, for the Grosbeak bill gives 

 the bird its name and is an exaggeration of the 

 Finch type. 



This powerful crusher is put to most excellent 

 use in the potato field for killing the Colorado 

 potato beetles, of which the birds are particularly 

 fond. The Grosbeaks have been accused of eat- 

 ing peas, but the stomachs of those killed while 

 about the vines contained but few peas, and 

 enough potato bugs and other harmful insects to 

 pay for all the peas taken in a whole season. 

 The garden where these Grosbeaks were found 

 adjoined a potato patch, which was so infested 

 with bugs that the vines were completely riddled. 



