THE GROUND ROBIN. 338 



Emberiza erythrophthalma, Gmelin. 'Syst. Nat., I. (1788) 874; Wils. Am. Orn., 

 VI. (1812) 90. 



Pipillo erythrophthalmus, Vieillot. Gal. Ois., I. (1824) 109. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Upper parts generally, head and neck all round, and upper part of the breast, 

 glossy black, abruptly defined against the pure white which extends to the anus, 

 but is bounded on the sides and under the wings by light-chestnut; under coverts 

 similar to sides, but paler; edges of outer six primaries with white at the base and 

 on the middle of the outer web; inner two tertiaries also edged externally with 

 white ; tail feathers black ; outer web of the first, with the ends of the first to the 

 third white, decreasing from the exterior one. Female with the black replaced by 

 brown ; iris red. 



Length, eight and seventy-five one-hundredths inches; wing, three and seventy- 

 five one-hundredths; tail, four and ten one-hundredths inches. 



This beautiful and well-known species, al though common 

 in Massachusetts and the other southern New-England 

 States, is rare in the three northern. It begins to grow 

 scarce in the northern districts of Massachusetts ; and, before 

 we have passed fifty miles beyond its northern limits, it is 

 very rarely seen. It makes its appearance about the 20th 

 of April, the males preceding the females by a week or ten 

 days. As soon as the females arrive, the pairing season 

 commences. The male, perched on a low limb of a tree or 

 high bush, chants his pleasing song, sometimes for half an 

 hour at a time : this song resembles the syllables, tow-h^e 

 'che 'de 'de 'de 'de, uttered at first slowly and plaintively, and 

 quickly increased in volume and rapidity of utterance. He 

 has also a sort of quavering warble difficult of description. 

 If he is approached, he watches the intruder, and, after 

 ascertaining his business, utters his note tow-hee, and pro- 

 ceeds his search among the fallen leaves for his favorite food 

 of worms, insects, and seeds, which lie is almost continually 

 scratching for among the dead vegetation. 



About the second week in May, the birds commence build- 

 ing. The locality usually chosen is in low, thick woods, 

 or in thickets of briers and bushes near streams of water, 

 in which places this species is most often found. The nest 

 is placed on the ground, usually beneath a bunch of grass, 



