ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 41 
end of July. Generally, however, the nest of the Rose-breasted Gros- 
beak is placed on the top branches of an alder bush, near water, and 
usually on the borders of meadows or alluvial grounds. It is composed 
of the dried twigs of trees, mixed with a few leaves and the bark of 
vines, and is lined with fibrous roots and horse-hair. The eggs are 
seldom more than four, and I believe only one brood is raised in the 
season. Both sexes incubate. I have found the nest and eggs, on the 
20th of May, on the borders of Cayuga Lake, in the State of New 
York.” 
“The flight of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is strong, even, and as 
graceful as it is sustained. When travelling southward, at the approach 
of autumn, or about the rst of September, it passes high over the forest 
trees, in the manner of the King-bird and the Robin, alighting toward 
sunset on a tall tree, from which it in a few minutes dives into some 
close thicket, where it remains during the night. The birds travel 
singly at this season as well as during spring.” 
