THE BIKDS OF NEW JEESEY. 243 



bush to bush, and back to the ground, exhibiting his bhick, wliite and 

 brown colors to perfection. 



When singing he jjerches motionless on the top of some bush or low 

 tree and at intervals utters the notes which Thompson Seton so clearly 

 represents with the syllables "chuck-burr, pill-a-will-a-will-a." 



The Towhee is pretty generally distributed, but is particularly 

 plentiful in the pine barrens of which section it is one of the char- 

 acteristic species. 



593 Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus). 

 Cardinal. 



PLATE 61. 



Advlt male. — Length, 8-9. Wing, 3.75. Whiole plumage, vermilion red, ex- 

 cept the throat, forehead and area at base of bill, which are black ; back 

 feathers edged with grayish ; a conspicuous crest on the head ; bill, red. 



Adult female. — Above, grayish-olive ; below, pale fulvous or buff ; wings and 

 tail, dull red, as in male ; throat, etc., dull grayish. 



Young in first summer. — Similar to adult female, but males show more or 

 less red in the plumage. 



Nest of grapevine bark and dead leaves, lined with rootlets au'l grass, in 

 bushes, three to four feet up ; eggs, three to four, white, spotted with brown, 

 1.00 X .70. 



Common resident in the southern half of State and along the eastern 

 border to the vicinity of jSTew York City. 



This is one of our really brilliant birds, but, in spite of his red coat, 

 he is not nearly so conspicuous as one might suppose, and those who 

 are familiar with him note his presence by his call more frequently 

 than by his color. He has a loud clear whistle, somewhat resemljling 

 the syllables ''woit, woit, woit, woit," repeated rapidly and at other 

 times a more deliberate "cheer, cheer, cheer." The Cardinal is a bird 

 of low thickets, and is active and inquisitive, flitting about from place 

 to place with crest erect, and showing a great display of rivalry when 

 one imitates his call. 



It seems strange to see such an apparently tropical bird in the 

 depth of winter, and yet all through southern New Jersey, especially 

 along the tide-w^ater creeks, he is just as plentiful when the ground is 

 covered witii snow as in midsummer. 



In the northern counties he does not occur, but breeds at least as far 



