FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 455 



and became of a greenisli-yellow. In May and June, its song, though 

 not so loud as that of some birds, was extremely clear, mellow, and sweet. 

 This song it warbled out for the wliole morning, and also imitated the notes 

 of a Cardinal, that hung near it. It became exceedingly tame and familiar, 

 and when in want of food or water, uttered a continual melancholy and 

 anxious note. 



In tlie winter of 1835, and for several following seasons, these birds were 

 exceedingly abundant in the vicinity of Boston. The}^ appeared early in 

 December, and remained until quite late in March, feeding chiefly on the 

 berries of the red cedar. They were so unsuspecting and familiar that it was 

 often possible to capture them alive in butterfiy-nets, and to knock them down 

 with poles. Large numbers were destroyed and brought to market, and many 

 were taken alive and caged. They were tame, but unhappy in confinement, 

 uttering mournful cries as the warm weather approaclied. In the winter 

 of 1869-70 they again made their appearance in extraordinary numbers, 

 in a few localities on the sea-coast of Massachusetts, where they did con- 

 siderable damage to the fruit-buds of the apple and pear. 



Sir John Ilichardson states that this bird was not observed by his expedi- 

 tion higher than the 60th parallel. It lives, for the most part, a very retired 

 life, in the deepest recesses of the pine forests, where it passes the entire 

 year, having been found by INIr. Drage, near York Fort, on the 25th of Janu- 

 ary, 1747. Richardson adds that it l)uilds its nest on the lower branches of 

 trees, and feeds chiefly on the seeds of the white spruce. 



Dr. Coues speaks of it as not at all rare along the coast of Lal)rador, where 

 lie obtained several specimens. It was confined entirely to the thick woods 

 and patches of scrubby juniper. A female remained unconcernedly on a 

 twig after he had shot her mate, uttering continually a low soft slicp, like 

 that of the Fox-colored Sparrow. Another note was a prolonged whirring 

 chirrup, uttered in a rather low tone, apparently a note of recognition. 



A lady resident in Newfoundland informed Mr. Audubon that she had 

 kept several of these Grosbeaks in confinement, that they soon became very 

 familiar, would sing during the nioht, feeding, during the summer, on all 

 kinds of fruit and berries, and in the winter on different seeds. INIr. Audu- 

 bon also often observed that, when firing at one of their number, the others, 

 instead of flying away, would move towards him, often to within a few feet, 

 and remain on the lower branches of the trees, gazing at him in curiosity, 

 entirely unmingled with any sense of their own danger. Mr. Audubon quotes 

 from Mr. McCulloch, of Pictou, an interesting account of the habits of one 

 of these birds, kept in confinement. The ^\•inter had been very severe, the 

 storms violent, and, in consequence of the depth of snow, many birds had 

 perished from hunger and cold. The Grosbeaks, driven from the woods, 

 sought food around the barns and outhouses, and crowded the streets of 

 Pictou. One of these, taken in a star\ing condition, soon became so tame as 

 to feed from his hand, lived at large in his chamber, and would awaken him 



