Nests in Trees, Bushes, or Vines 
dark brown; belly white ; wings black, with white feathers, 
each white feather tipped with buff. 
Breeding Range—The Eastern States, from North Carolina (in the 
more elevated regions) northward to New England. 
The nest is shallow, and loosely constructed of dry vine ten- 
drils and small twigs, at a height of seven to fifteen feet from the 
ground, placed in blackberry or other vines, in bushes, or in 
trees. The eggs, from 3 to 5 in number, are pale greenish 
blue, nearly covered by small irregular brownish and lilac mark- 
ings. Size—.96 x .73. See Fig. 12, Plate D. 
It is not a difficult nest to find, as the male bird, whose brilliant 
colour makes him so conspicuous, is generally to be discovered near 
by, and when the nest is threatened by the intruder he becomes 
greatly excited, uttering an oft-repeated sharp, piercing note, and 
occasionally breaking into that beautiful soft song so peculiar to 
the grosbeak. When he is seen to act in that manner there is 
sure to be a nest not far away, and a little patient searching will 
discover its whereabouts. The nest when found will probably 
cause some surprise by the apparently insecure manner in which 
itis placed. Most birds weave their nests around branches or 
vines, but the grosbeaks seldom take such precaution ; they usually 
build their nest in or on the fork of a branch, from which it may 
be removed without disturbing it in any way. A likely place for 
the nest is near the banks of a stream, where the bushes grow 
thick. 
The young leave the nest when about eleven days old. If 
taken at that age they may be easily reared, as they are remark- 
ably hardy and become absolutely tame in a very short while. 
Few birds make better pets; they are sociably inclined—even 
affectionate, if 1 may use the term when speaking of birds—beau- 
tiful in appearance, and the male bird sings a delightfully sweet 
song, which he commences when ten weeks old. If left ina 
lighted room, they sing until late at night. The breeding season 
near New York begins about the third week in May. 
597. Blue Grosbeak: Guiraca czrulea (Linn.) 
Adult 4—Deep and rather obscure blue ; nearly black on the 
back ; chin and in front of eyes black. 
149 
