BIRDS OF KANSAS. 485 



rive the last of April to first of May; begin laying the last of 

 May; leave for the south in September, 



B. 880. R. 244. C. 289. G. 122, 243. U. 595. 



Habitat. Eastern North America; north to Nova Scotia and 

 the Saskatchewan region; west to the edge of the Great Plains; 

 south in winter to northern South America; breeding from about 

 latitude 40° northward. 



Sp. Chak. "Upper parts generally, with head and neck all round, glossy 

 black. A broad crescent across the upper part of the breast, extending nar- 

 rowly down the belly; axillars and under wing coverts carmine. Eest of under 

 parts, rump and upper tail coverts, middle wing coverts, spots on the tertiaries 

 and greater wing coverts, basal half of primaries and secondaries, and a large 

 patch on the ends of inner webs of the outer three tail feathers, pure white. 



"Female without the white of quills, tail and rump, and without any black 

 or red. Above, yellowish brown, streaked with darker; head with a central 

 stripe above, and a superciliary on each side, white. Beneath dirty white, 

 streaked with brown on the breast and sides. Upper wing coverts and axillars 

 saffron yellow. 



"In the male the black feathers of the back and sides of the neck have a 

 subterminal white bar. There are a few black spots on the sides of the breast 

 just below the red. 



"The young male of the year is like the female, except in having the axil- 

 laries, under wing coverts, and a trace of a patch on the breast, light rose red. 



"The depth of the carmine tint on the under parts varies a good deal in dif- 

 ferent specimens, but is always of the same rosy hue." 



Iris brown; bill grayish white, with ridge dusky and tips 

 brown; legs and feet grayish blue; claws light brown. 



These handsome birds are as much at home in the groves and 

 high, open woodlands as within the low, timbered lands skirting 

 the streams. They occasionally visit the orchards and gardens, 

 in search of the potato bugs and other injurious insects and 

 worms, and later in the season pick a few berries, etc., as part 

 payment for the good services rendered; but they are wary 

 birds and prefer the woodlands for their haunts, feeding chiefly 

 upon the wild seeds, berries, tender buds and insect life that 

 abound in such localities. They occasionally search for food 

 on the ground, but are more arboreal than terrestial, and are to 

 be looked for largely in the treetops. 



