194 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



young grosbeaks in the woods on June 23d. On August 

 7th I again saw young grosbeaks in the woods associating 

 with young towhees and cardinals, though the latter flew 

 away while the grosbeaks remained in a bare tree, and 

 very coolly allowed me to make satisfactory observations. 

 Soon after sunrise on the morning of August 9th I 

 observed a young grosbeak feeding on the seeds of the 

 sunflowers growing in my garden. It frequently uttered 

 a plaintive " quee " in a low tone. When I approached 

 quite near, it flew into a maple tree just within the yard, 

 accompanied by an adult male I had not noticed. Again, 

 on August 12th, I noted an adult male rose-breasted gros- 

 beak feeding a young bird in a low elm in front of my 

 home, and in the afternoon of the same day I saw a young 

 bird of the species in a neighbor's door-yard. From these 

 facts I conclude that two broods are frequently reared in 

 this extreme southern limit of their breeding range. The 

 young birds can be noted by the sharp " chick " they 

 utter at frequent intervals, and also by their peculiar 

 low, whining, plaintive cry, often repeated many times at 

 frequent intervals, represented by the syllables 'Hu-rer," 

 the first accented and lengthened. The care of the young 

 birds appears to devolve largely upon the male parent, 

 and indeed a large share of the incubating is done by the 

 good-natured father-bird. Dr. Hoy tells us that he found 

 that three of four parent birds sitting on the nests were 

 males. 



Passing under a low plum tree near the sidewalk in 

 town on the morning of Memorial Day, 1896, I heard the 

 plaintive whining of a young bird, and soon discovered 

 the author of the cry on a branch above my head. It 

 seemed a bunch of fluffy, yellowish-white down, with 

 dark markings, and I immediately identified the little, 

 helpless fellow as a young rose-breasted grosbeak. The' 

 baby was evidently waiting for one of its parents to bring 

 its breakfast, and it frequently made known its wants by 

 repeating its plaintive cry. Soon another young bird was 

 found in an adjoining tree, and as I watched them the 

 father-bird came along uttering his "kick," which he soon 

 changed to a sharp chirp of alarm when he found his 

 babies the center of observation. Low in the branches 



