Cardinal or Redbird. 155 



to be au almost indispensable material, and it is used in 

 rounding up the walls and also in the base of the struc- 

 ture. In most cases the nest is lined with a layer of wiry^ 

 reddish stems and rootlets. The eggs in a complement 

 number three or four. They are greenish white, marked 

 irregularly with spots of reddish brown. They average 

 1.00 by .75 of an inch. 



When the young cardinals leave the nest and take their 

 first lessons in domestic economy, they resort to the weed 

 patches bordering streams and ravines in wooded regions, 

 where in company with young towhees, sparrows, and 

 other granivorous birds they feed on the seeds of weeds 

 and grasses. The most of the food of the cardinals is 

 found on the ground and among the weeds, and often they 

 can be heard rustling among the leaves in their forest 

 home searching for larval worms, insects, and seeds. They 

 are frequent visitors to the feedyards of rural homes, 

 where they pick up neglected grain, and often forage 

 around the corn-pens in winter to glean the scattered mor- 

 sels. The wild berries and grapes found in the woods in 

 late sumn\er and through autumn and winter furnish 

 them a bountiful living, and on their leisurely excursions 

 through the gardens, yards, and orchards they fare sump- 

 tuously on the berries, seeds, and insects they secure. 

 The seeds of the sunflower attract them to our yards and 

 gardens, and very early in the mornings they can be 

 observed taking their breakfast from the ripened heads 

 with evident pleasure. 



The cardinal does not cease to manifest its cheerful 

 spirit after its youngsters have left the parental home, 

 but through the remaining portion of the summer and 

 late into fall its varied and interesting notes enliven the 

 neighborhood it frequents. Its persistency and beauty of 

 expression have caused it to be regarded with favor as a 

 cage bird, together with its surpassing brilliancy of 

 plumage. Indeed, in the early history of our country it 

 was christened the "Virginia nightingale because of its 

 vocal powers, singing as it does from early February to 

 early November in favored regions. The author of "Our 

 Birds in Their Haunts" thus speaks of the cardinal: 

 " Nor does it render a mere matin or vesper hymn, but 



