66 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



ivliitc. the rump, also white; iris, brown. Adult Male 

 IN Winter: Wings, tail, and upper tail-coverts as in 

 summer ; head, neck, back, and shoulders, brown 

 streaked with black, color of head relieved by a center 

 crown-stripe, a stripe over eye. and a cheek stripe of 

 pale buffy or buiify whitish ; under parts, brownish 

 white, the chest, sides, and flanks streaked with dusky, 

 the first tinged or sufifused with rose-red or rose-pink. 

 Young M.\le in First Winter: Similar to the adult 

 male in winter, but wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail, 

 grayish brown, instead of black, the last without any 

 white, the first with the white markings much reduced 

 and tinged with brown ; back and shoulders, more uni- 

 formly brown ; chest, sides, and flanks, more deeply 

 fulvous and more heavily streaked, the first with little, 

 if any, red or pink; under wing-coverts and axillaries, 

 rose-pink. Adults Female (Summer and Winter): 

 Much like the young male, but wing-coverts yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In low trees and bushes, 

 sometimes on such slender branches that the eggs roll 

 out when the support is bent by a strong breeze ; a flat, 

 rather carelessly made saucer-shaped structure of small 

 twigs, wiry rootlets, and grass. Eggs : 3 to 5, greenish 

 blue, spotted and blotched over entire surface with 

 chestnut and shades of brown. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States and more 

 southern British provinces, from Atlantic coast to edge 

 of the Great Plains (eastern Kansas to Manitoba) ; 

 breeding from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, northern 

 Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, Iowa, and 

 eastern Kansas, north to Manitoba. Ontario, Nova 

 Scotia, etc., and south along the Allegheny Mountains 

 to western North Carolina (3500 to 5000 feet) ; in 

 winter south to Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and through 

 Mexico and Central America to western Ecuador ; 

 casual in Bermudas. 



There is no bird in our eastern American avi- 

 fauna that is better worth an acquaintance than 

 the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. .Some birds force 

 themselves upon our attention ; we have to go 

 to find the Rose-breast for he is nowhere com- 



mon. .Some birds have commonplace voices, but 

 the Rose-breast lias a rich and mellow voice 

 that rings out with abundant vitality in the bush 

 lot at the edge of the forest or across the bushy 

 swamp. Many birds seem to ask for exaggerated 



ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (s nat size) 



He is an efficient, resourceful, and virile American 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



