Grosbeak WESTERN BIRDS 



Seton tells us that these birds are very fond of the 

 berries of the mountain-ash trees and sumach bushes. 

 Also that its form has a general resemblance to that of 

 the common Robin, but its very short, thick beak and its 

 forked tail are striking differences. It is rather slow 

 and inactive when in a tree, and when on the wing it 

 has a loud whistle which is very characteristic; during 

 the spring-time it has a prolonged and melodious song. 



GENUS PINICOLA: WESTERN PINE 

 GROSBEAKS. 



California Pine Grosbeak: Pinicola enucleator cali- 

 fornica. 



FAMILY— FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



In the west we find several subspecies of these hand- 

 some birds, but nowhere are they as abundant as we 

 might wish them. 



A bird known as the Alaska Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola 

 enucleator alascensis) breeds from northwestern Alaska 

 and Mackenzie to northern Washington, wintering in 

 Montana. In plumage these birds resemble the eastern 

 ones, but according to Allen Brooks, who has studied 

 them in Washington, they quite differ from their cousins 

 in not eating the mountain-ash berries. He says that 

 they refused to touch them even after all the rose hips 

 and snow berries were gone and they were reduced to 

 eating weed seeds. 



Mr. Brooks tells of a pair he found feeding young on 

 the 17th of July in the Cascade Mountains, Washington, 

 and adds that no red males were seen, though many gray 

 males sang in the early morning from the topmost sprays 

 of the balsams. It is his opinion that the red plumage 

 of the male is acquired at the first moult or immediately 



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