228 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part i 



roosts. In December, January, and February the pair often retired 

 shortly after 1 p.m. and hid in then- spruce, sound asleep throughout 

 the afternoon and evening. Rarely did they ever leave their roosting 

 place unless badly disturbed. 



Evening grosbeaks roost in a variety of places. Edward R. Ford 

 wrote me in 1942 that in the sand-dune country of northern Indiana 

 in February: "The temperature must have been near zero and there 

 was some wind. * * * the bird took its station on one of the small 

 twigs of a smaU pine, in the lee of the trunk which was not more than 

 5 or 6 inches in diameter. It assmned at once the attitude of sleep 

 with the head turned to the rear and apparently resting between 

 the scapulars." Marcia B. Clay (1930) teUs of a male evening gros- 

 beak that passed the night near her house at North Bristol, Ohio, 

 "on the ground where the slope of the ravine and the projecting roots 

 of an apple tree afforded protection from wind and snow." On 

 Dec. 28, 1956, Louise de Kirihne Lawrence and Sheldon McLaren 

 saw five evening grosbeaks flying to a roost in white pines at Mattawa, 

 Nipissing District, Ontario at 3:30 p.m. At 8:30 a.m. on January 31, 

 1957, Mrs. Lawrence saw a flock of about 40 grosbeaks at Mattawa, 

 mostly males, "coming off the night roost in a grove of tall pines." 

 H. R. Dean of Highland Creek, Ontario, tells me grosbeaks roosted 

 in white pines and cedars there throughout the winter of 1956-57. 



Lucie McDougaU wrote me that on March 31, 1947, she had 

 "brought an injured bird around" into her house and released it at 

 5 :00 p.m. It "flew up into a big elm next door and to my amazement 

 I saw two others up there sleeping." Late in the evening she went 

 out with a flashlight and found the birds still there. Again early in 

 the morning the three grosbeaks were stiU high up in the big bare 

 elm tree. She told me of other grosbeaks roosting at Port Credit in 

 a row of tall spruce trees. We observed several evening grosbeaks 

 roosting in just such a long row of spruces near Lake Ontario at 

 OakviUe on Mar. 2, 1958. We discovered the bu'ds in the thick 

 crowns of the trees at 3:40 p.m., when a squirrel frightened them into 

 momentary flight. 



Voice. — Aretas A. Saunders sent the following note to Mr. Bent: 

 "In recent years, when evening grosbeaks have become more frequent 

 in occurrence, I have recorded some of the sounds they produce, 

 but I am not satisfied that any of these are songs. The commonest 

 calls are shrill piping sounds, somewhat suggestive of spring Hylas. 

 These are alternated with a lower pitched trilly sound. The sounds 

 are like peet peet kreek peet kreek peet peet, etc. The peets in my records 

 are pitched on A'" and the kreeks on F#"'. Another sound that is 

 occasional, is like tchew tchew tchew and is used by birds feeding in a 

 flock. The pitch is G'"." 



