532 



MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



241. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linn.). (595) 



Synonyms: Common Grosbeak, Smnmer Grosbeak, Potato-bug Bird. — Loxia ludovi- 

 ciana, Linn., 1766, Wilson, 1810. — Guiraca ludoviciana. Swains. — Coccoborus ludovicianus, 

 Aud. — Hedymeles ludovicianus, Sclater and others. — Goniaphea ludoviciana, Coucs, 1873. 

 — Habia ludoviciana, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886. 



Plate LIV and Figure 121. 



Male, in spring, black, white and rose-color in large masses, the short 

 thick bill nearly white. Female brown or gray, heavily streaked with 

 brown, the wings lined with salmon or yellow, and a distinct whitish line 

 over and behind the eye. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to 

 Manitoba and the eastern border of the Plains, breeding from Kansas, 

 and the mountains of the Carolinas northward; south in winter to Cuba, 

 Central America, and northern South America. 



This beautiful bird, one of our most brilliant species and a fine singer 

 as well, is generally distributed during summer over the entire state, but 

 apparently in greatest abund- 



\ 



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ance in the Lower Peninsula 

 although it is reported as not 

 uncommon at Sault Ste. 

 Marie, Marquette, and all the 

 intervening country in the 

 Upper Peninsula, as well as 

 from Keweenaw Point. Mr. 

 Norman A. Wood states also 

 that several were noted on 

 Isle Royale, in northwestern 

 Lake Superior, in September 

 1904. 



Tn the southern part of 

 the state it arrives from the 

 south during the last week in 

 April or the first week in May, 

 and probably reaches the 

 northern sections from the 

 middle to the last of the 

 month. Mr. Swales' earhest 

 record at Detroit is April 30, 1896 and his latest in the fall is Oc- 

 tober 21, 1898. He thinks the greater number leave for the south be- 

 tween the middle and last of September. Like the Baltimore Oriole and 

 several other common species the Grosbeak becomes very scarce soon 

 after nesting, and during August very few are to be found. It becomes 

 more abundant, however, early in September, after the fall plumage has 

 been acquired. 



It seems probable that this species has greatly increased in numbers 

 within the last few decades. This is true not only of Michigan, but of a 

 large part of the eastern United States. The bird does not shun the vicinity 

 of man, but nests almost as frequently in orchards and parks as in the 

 forest. It seems to prefer second growth timber, and especially regions 



Fig. 121. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Adult female. 



From Hoffman's Guide to the Birds of New England and 



Eastern New York. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



