SONG-BIRDS. Cardinal 



by cold, leaves before hard frosts. A pair or two always 

 nest in the garden under a tangle of wild grape-vines. 



Cardinal : Cardinalis cardinalis. 



Cardinal Grosbeak, Virginia Nightingale. 



Plate 32. 



Length .• 8-9 inches. 



Male : Magnificent red, conspicuously crested ; black throat and band 



around beak. Wings at some seasons washed with gray. Bill 



light red ; feet brown. 

 Female : Brownish yellow ; crest, wings, and tail reddish. 

 Song: A full, rich whistle, — " Cheo-cheo-chehoo-cheo ! " Female 



also sings. 

 Season : A notable bird of the Southern States, straggling as far north 



as Massachusetts. 

 Breeds : Through its range. 

 Nest : Bulky and loosely made of bark, leaves, and grass placed in a 



bush. 

 Hggs : Pale gray, marked with brown, varying from red to chocolate. 

 Bange: Eastern United States, north to New Jersey and the Ohio 



Valley (casually farther), west to the Plains. 



As a cage bird the Cardinal is familiar to nearly every 

 one; although in confinement he soon loses the brilliancy 

 of his plumage, he often keeps his full song. He is regarded 

 as a semi-tropical species, yet in the breeding-season he 

 strays into the New England States; winters plentifully 

 in lower Pennsylvania, while a small colony are resident in 

 Central Park, New York. 



The Cardinal owes many of his misfortunes to his " fatal 

 gift of beauty." It is simply impossible that he should 

 escape notice, and to be seen, in spite of laws to the con- 

 trary, means that he will either be trapped, shot, or perse- 

 cuted out of the country. The fact that this bird has not 

 become extinct is a wonderful proof of the endurance and 

 persistency of the species. 



In the vicinity of New York, Mr. Bicknell says that its 



song lasts from April to August, and that he has seen the 



Cardinal in every month from October to March. Wilson 



writes that the full song lasts, in the South, from March to 



H 161 



