94 



CARDINAL. 



Chewinks are anxious parents, as well they may be 

 with their open nest at the mercy of every prowling 

 cat and chipmunk. Dr. Richmond says: " If you go 

 into a thicket and ' squeak up ' some birds, the first 

 to come forward and complain of your presence are 

 Chewinks, Catbirds and Vireos." " Squeaking " is 

 imitating the cry of young birds, which may be done 

 by kissing the back of the hand. 



*' ]\Iarsh Robin," " Swamp Robin," and " Ground 

 Robin " are local names for the Chewink. 



Cardinal; Virginia Red- Bird: Cardinalis cardinalis. 



Length 8^ inches. 



Male, whole body and bill bright cardinal-red. 



A black mask surrounds the bill and extends on the throat: 

 a fine long crest. 



Female, yellowish-brown, with red bill and a little red on 

 her crest, wings and tail. 



Resident (common) all the year. 



Winter and early spring are the best times to look 

 for the glorious Cardinals, as they are much less shy 

 than when they have a nest or young birds to guard. 

 They have been so hunted for cage-birds that it is no 

 wonder they are timid, and hide their nestlings in 

 the wildest of wet undergrowth where we can with 

 difBculty follow. A caged Cardinal, condemned to 

 solitary confinement with no other occupation than 

 jumping betw^een two sticks a foot apart, is a pitiful 

 sight, and not to be willingly endured by any readers 

 of that immortal story — " A Kentucky Cardinal." 



The rich delicious songs of this Grosbeak — for he 

 has several — can be heard in almost any wild spot 

 near water. Miss Merriam * writes one as " cue, ciic, 



* In Birds of Village and Field. 



