368 SINGING BIRDS. 



the borders of Athabasca Lake ; to the east of these Hmits 

 these birds appear to be only transient visitors in spring and 

 fall. They are common inhabitants of the fur countries, and 

 particularly of the maple woods of the Saskatchewan, where 

 they do not arrive from the South before the commencement 

 of the month of June. In the pine woods of Oregon (accord- 

 ing to Mr. Townsend) numerous flocks are seen about the mid- 

 dle of May, and at this time they are very tame and unsuspicious, 

 moving about in considerable numbers throughout the whole 

 of the day, and seem no way given to retiring before sunset. 

 Their ordinary note while feeding consists of a single rather 

 screaming call. At other times, particularly about mid-day, the 

 male from the branches of some tall pine-tree utters a single 

 warbling note much like the interrupted beginning of the 

 Robin's song, but not so sweet. They feed upon the seeds 

 of the pine and other trees, alighting upon the large limbs, 

 and proceed by a series of hops to the very extremities of 

 the branches. They also occasionally devour the larvae of ants, 

 and probably other kinds of insects. 



The Evening Grosbeak occurs regularly in winter in Wisconsin, 

 Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan, and occasionally in Ohio and Ontario. 

 During the latter part of the winter of 1889-90 numbers were 

 seen eastward to Montreal and the New England States. 



The flocks appeared in the vicinity of Hamilton about the 

 middle of December. Mr. Mcllwraith writes that the first he saw 

 was a flock of about twenty or thirty, some of whom were on the 

 bank of the Lake feeding, " while others were down on the sandy 

 shore, picking gravel or dabbling themselves in the water. ... I 

 thought at first that the original flock had remained, but soon found 

 that an easterly migration was going on, and that as one flock left 

 another arrived. . . . During February few, if any, were observed 

 here. In March the return trip commenced, but was in all respects 

 different from the easterly one. The birds were then fewer in num- 

 ber, and all seemed excited and desirous to go west with the least 

 possible delay." (Birds of Ontario.) 



