184 



THE OOLOGIST. 



sweet, and these were the only sounds 

 I heard. I watched them till they went 

 away and then I wrote a name in my 

 note book that had never been there 

 before. 



I have said thus much about my first 

 meetiDg with this western wanderer, 

 for it is the first meeting with a rare 

 bird that the ornithologist loves best. 

 However this meeting was not destined 

 to be my last. The next day, on goiDg 

 to the college, Prof. Doherty reported 

 having seen a flock of about fifty feed- 

 ing on a weed patch in a pasture. He 

 described their manner of feeding to 

 me but I shall come to that later on 



On the 12th of February two more 

 were noted and the next day three were 

 seen. I shot one of these and watched 

 another, a fine, bright male who, all by 

 himself, was makiDg a meal off the 

 fruits of a Manitoba map'e. I did not 

 seethem agaia till the 27h of February 

 when my attention was attracted by 

 hearing the low flow of Grosbeak 

 language from the top of a little bal- 

 sam and there were two birds, both 

 dull-colored this time. 



Yet again I saw this bird in black 

 and gold. On March 10th I startled a 

 Screech Owl from his perch over our 

 front door and a moment later, while I 

 was yet watching the fast retreating 

 owi, I heard the clear whistle, the Gros- 

 beak's ctll, in a maple grove to the left. 

 The desire for specimens came on me 

 and when 1 went to look for the auth- 

 ors of the notes I had my gun in my 

 hands. I got them both in line but 

 only one fell; the other flew to a near- 

 by tree and dropped at the report of the 

 second barrel. There are three Gros- 

 beak skins in my collection but they 

 look different from those splendid birds 

 that whis-led in the morning air from 

 the top of the maple in the grove. Still 

 I am glad they are there. 



In this paper I have tried merely to 

 give an account of my experience with 



this bird, and not to give a regular ac- 

 count of its habits, but before 1 close I 

 must put down a few little points which 

 I observed in regard to its notes and 

 its feeding habits. For its habits when 

 in flocks I have to rely on Prof. Doher- 

 ty's description as I did not notice a 

 single flock. 



The flock which he obseived consist- 

 ed of about fifty birds and they were 

 feeding among thist'es, ragweed, pig- 

 weed and varions other weeds which 

 freqaent waste land. They continual- 

 ly moved onwards with a sort of leap- 

 frog motion, those behind flying 'on 

 ahead of those in froDt and then alight- 

 ing to feed. This motion was repeated 

 again and again as the seeds were ex- 

 hausted. All this time, (and I noticed 

 this myself in connection with the birds 

 I saw feeding,) there was a < ootinuou* 

 flow of conversation, each bird talking 

 softly to itself in a low, sweet voice as 

 though its mind were far away. They 

 have another note however, a loud, 

 clear whistle like the Pine Grosbeaks. 

 This is one of their call notes and U 

 usually uttered when the bird is perchf d 

 high upon a tree. 



In regard to food the stomachs of the 

 three birds I shot contained enly a 

 green mass of vegetable material, 

 probably buds or the fruits of the maple, 

 in fact one bird was feeding on the lat- 

 ter when shot and another was watched 

 feeding on the fruits of the Manitoba 

 maple. 



In quietness and trust of people 

 these birds almost outdo the Pine 

 Grosbeak for they never showed the 

 slightest sign of fear, in fact I stood so 

 close to one that I could have touched 

 it easily with my hand. However, the 

 Evening Grosbeaks are gone now and 

 I suppose it will be some time before I 

 see them again, but they helped to 

 brighten one winter for me and for 

 that I'm thankful. 



F. Norman Beattie, 

 Well's Grove, Guelph, Ont. 



