Nests in Trees, Bushes, or Vines 



The female cardinal, though more subdued in colouring, is 

 by no means inferior to her mate in her powers of singing ; her 

 song is rather softer, but not less beautiful. The breeding sea- 

 son begins about the third week in April. 



593d. Florida Cardinal: C. c. floridanus Ridgw. 



A geographical race of the common cardinal, rather smaller 

 and not so intensely coloured. The nesting habits and eggs are 

 identical with those of the more northern bird. 



Breeding Range Florida. 



This is a very common bird in most parts of Florida, frequent- 

 ing the vicinity of houses, clearings, or hummocks ; they are ex- 

 ceedingly tame, and lend a cheerful bit of colour and song to the 

 somewhat monotonous scenery of most parts of Florida. 



595. Rose-breasted Grosbeak : Habia ludoviciana (Linn.) 



Adult $ Head, throat, and back black ; breast carmine ; under 

 wing coverts rose colour ; belly white ; wings black, with 

 white markings ; tail black tipped with white ; the beak, as 

 the bird's name implies, is very thick and strong. Length 

 8.15. 



Adult $ Head, back, and breast warm gray or buff, with brown 

 markings ; the head has a buff line on the crown, with a dark 

 line on either side, and a conspicuous white line over the 

 eye ; wings and tail grayish brown ; the under wing coverts 

 are bright golden yellow. 



Immature $ and $ Resemble each other, the colour being much 

 the same as that of the adult ? , but rather lighter, the only 

 marked difference being in the under wing coverts, which 

 in the $ are bright yellow, and in the $ rose colour. When 

 about three months old the $ shows a decidedly warm buff 

 colour on the breast, with undefined wine-coloured mark- 

 ings ; the back becomes darker and also warmer in tone. 



The $ has the line over the eye nearly white; the throat 

 very pale gray, with dark brownish gray markings, and is in 

 general appearance much colder in tone than the $ . 



3 , eighteen months old The head and back black, mot- 

 tled with buff ; line over eye light buff ; throat and upper 

 part of breast buff, with reddish suffusions and fine black 

 marks ; breast rather dull carmine, with a few dark spots 

 and a tinge of buff ; sides light buff, streaked slightly with 



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