^°iSc^'^J Brewster oh the Pine Grosbeak. 240 



only a few rods away, ran through the flocks at frequent 

 intervals. When a number of birds took flight suddenly and 

 simultaneously this sound was often given by most if not all of 

 them at once. It resembles the whistling of the wings of a flock 

 of Carolina Doves and also, if the air be still and the birds very 

 near at hand, the rolling flight note of the Snow Bunting. The 

 loud peer of the Grosbeaks is not unlike another call of the Snow 

 Bunting when it is heard distinctly, but at a distance it may be 

 easily mistaken for the cry of a Blue Jay. It seems to serve 

 both as an alarm note and to call the scattered members of a 

 flock together, and it is sometimes used during flight, but the 

 usual flight call consists of two, or sometimes three notes, given 

 quickly in a descending series like those of the Greater Yellow- 

 legs {Totauus melaiiohucns) — which they slightly resemble in 

 tone as well as form. This call may be written " tee-t 'yeh, tee- 

 tee-t'yeh," or " tee-t'yeh-te." A fourth call defies rendering by 

 letters, but may be fairly described as a loud rich chuckle or 

 chuckling whistle of from two to four syllables. This I usually 

 heard from a single bird perched on the top of a tree near some 

 tempting supply of food to which, as it seemed, he was trying 

 to attract the attention of distant comrades. It was not often 

 used. Some birds which I noosed made, when first caught, a 

 rather loud, continuous, squealing or squawking outcry very 

 like that of a Robin in the clutches of a Hawk. A sixth vocal 

 sound, which completes the list, was a low, harsh, grating cry, 

 uttered only, I believe, when two birds were quarreling. 



The Grosbeaks often fell out over some choice morsel of food 

 and indulged in a brief, harmless squabble threatening each 

 other with open bills and half-spread wings, and occasionally 

 giving or receiving a feeble peck or two. In the main, however, 

 they were unmistakably gentle and amiable in disposition, placid 

 if not phlegmatic in temperament, social and affectionate in 

 their relations to their own kind, and in their attitude towards 

 man almost wholly free from fear or even suspicion. 



Nevertheless they were subject to frequent and sudden panics. 

 The crack of a whip, the barking of a dog, the slamming of a 

 door, or even so slight a sound as the click of a camera shutter, 

 frequently caused them to scatter, and dash off in the wildest 



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