242 LAND-BIRDS. 



He occasionally seeks for morsels on the ground, and may be 

 seen rustling among the fallen leaves and decayed vegetation. 

 He usually, however, remains at some height above the 

 ground, and rarely flies near it. He is rather shy and watch- 

 ful, there being nothing in his habits to render him noticeable. 



d. He is not always silent during the day, when feeding ; 

 but it is at evening in May or June that he sings most loudly 

 and sweetly. Then, perching near the toj) of some low tree, 

 he pours out an exti'emely mellow warble, like that of the 

 Robin, but very much finer. Sometimes, in the love-season, 

 he sings at night, and with an ardor w^hich adds to the beauty 

 of his song. There is a peculiar charm in hearing birds sing 

 at night, for their music is more distinct and impressive in 

 the general silence which there then is, and awakes the ima- 

 gination. The cries of the Owls would not seem so unearthly, 

 were they heard only in the day, nor would they inspire such 

 terror to the superstitious, — a terror which the darkness 

 naturally increases or partly creates. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have as an ordinary note a 

 sharp chink, which bears some resemblance to the cry of the 

 Little Spotted or Downy Woodpecker, but is more like a cer- 

 tain note of the Black and Yellow Warbler. They are never 

 gregarious, but occur here for the most part in isolated pairs, 

 who in autumn are sometimes followed by their young. They 

 are said sometimes to sing well in confinement, "though," 

 says a correspondent, " one, which I had for several months, 

 was for a long while silent, until one morning he burst into 

 song, and sang gloriously for almost an hour, when he fell 

 dead on the floor of his cage ! " The males sometimes warble 

 when on wing, and they probably moimt in the air, when they 

 sing at night. Their merits as musicians will, it is sincerely 

 to be hoped, ever protect them from persecution as occasional 

 depredators on our shrubs and trees. 



XXIII. CARDINALIS. 



A. CARDINALIS. Cardinal Grosbeak. Cardinal Bed 

 Bird. Cardinal-bird. " Cardinal.'' Red Bird.^ " Vir- 



96 Not to be confused with the vermilion Summer Bed-bird (§ 10, 1, B). The 

 Cardinal has a red bill. 



