G6 



THE C0L0GI8T. 



run- <'nlort'cl mull calls him, dashed 

 against the wire sfreenin<f witii whit-h 

 the i'a<:;i' is eoveri'd. 



Stewakt E. White, 



Kent Co., Mieii. 



The Evening Grosbeak. 



Witii ail oriiitliolitojieal expeiieuee in 

 the vieiiiity of Detroit eovering the last 

 tive years, 1 have met with this species 

 only in the mouths of March and April, 

 188!). My tirst Hock was seen on March 

 third. I was in the woods looking up 

 old Hawks' ne.sts, when my attention 

 was directed to a small grove of beech 

 and live oak by having what 1 at tirst 

 took to he a number of Bluebirds 

 assem))led together and warbling as 

 House Sparrows sonu4imes do towards 

 evening, but upon a nearer approach, 

 the sounds made resemliled the cries of 

 wood frogs and it is doubtless frtmi this 

 close resemblance tiie birds derived 

 their name. This tlock contained at 

 least 200 individuals. The}" were about 

 evenlj' distributed in the trees ami on 

 the ground, consorting in little a.ssera- 

 Idies and, while hopping about in search 

 of beech nuts ou which the extensivelj' 

 fed, they reminded me ot very large, 

 hausomely colored House Sparrows. 

 I penetrated into the middle of the 

 Hock, lint they continued feeding with- 

 out diplaj'ing the least alarm, in fact 

 appeared almost indifferent to my pres- 

 ence. At times, withimt any cause for 

 alarm, one would give a sharp chirp 

 aud the little party would rise with a 

 loud buzz of wings to the branches 

 overhead where a general wiping of 

 bills and pluming of feathers took place 

 and the spot just left Avas immediately 

 taken up by another detachment from 

 the trees. 



One of the most characteristic fea- 

 tures of this species is the large, thick, 

 greenish-yellow bill. 



About three-fourths of their entire 

 number were females. The female 



differs greatly from the male in color 

 and were it not for the distinguishing 

 lieak, might lie mistaken for a differ- 

 ent species. A male and female before 

 me, taken ou alxive date, measure 8 and 

 7| inches respectively. The head of the 

 nijile is blackish-brown, bounded by a 

 broad band of bi-ight yellow across the 

 forehead and a streak of the same color 

 pas,ses over the ej'e. The nape of the 

 neck and throat are dark yellowish 

 olive, gradually brightening until on 

 the rump, abdomen and lower tail 

 coverts it iiecomes bright yellow. The 

 female differs by lacking the yellow 

 band on the forehead and streak over 

 the eye, also the large j^atch of white 

 on the wings. The head is dark brown- 

 ish and the nape of the neck and back, 

 brownish, shading into grej-ish yellow 

 on the rump. Throat greyish-brown 

 bordered on either side by a band of 

 black. Breast, yelloAvish-grey, brown 

 and alxlomen and lower tail i-overts, 

 white. 



This ffock was visited every vSundaj' 

 by several boj's with shotguns and rifles 

 and the report of fire-arms could be 

 heard throughout the day. As may be 

 supposed, this weekly persecution 

 thinned their numbers greatly and those 

 that were left, 1>y the midille of April, 

 were exceedingly wild and wary and 

 could be approached within gunshot 

 I'ange only Avitli the greatest caution. 



I saw 1113" last specimen April 25th, 

 but in the following month, three adnlt 

 males were brought me by a friend who 

 claimed to have secured them Maj' 13th. 



The last bird of this species, to my 

 knowledge, oliserved in this locality, 

 was an adult male seen ])y B. Swales on 

 November 16th, inside the cit.y limits. 



Let us hear from otiiers on the !ial)its 

 of this bin'. 



J. ('l.\ihe Wood, 



Detroit, Mich. 



