1552 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



and its nest is rarely built before the trees are in full foliage. The site of the nest 

 differs considerably. A favorite place is in the apple or pear trees in an orchard, 

 or in an old whitethorn often in quite an exposed situation; and when it breeds in 

 woods it sometimes selects a hornbeam, and less frequently a holly. The haw- 

 finch does not often breed in shrubberies, and its nest is somewhat rarely placed in 

 evergreen trees; but it has been found among ivy. It will also breed in tall oak 

 trees, and occasionally nests in fir trees and plantations. Sometimes the nest is 

 only a few feet from the ground, while at others it is as much as forty feet. 

 Building is usually commenced by the latter end of April or early in May, and 

 sometimes several nests will be found in the same plantation. The nest is a very beau- 

 tiful piece of handiwork, similar to that of the bullfinch, on an enlarged scale. The 

 outside is invariably made of twigs, frequently intermixed with lichens, and some- 

 times with dry plants; and the cup is formed of dry grasses lined with fine roots, 

 and often a little hair. As a rule it is very flat, and somewhat bulky, and the cup 

 is generally shallow and neatly finished. The eggs vary from four to six in number, 

 and are usually laid about the second week in May, sometimes earlier. There are 

 two very distinct types, the usual one is pale olive or bluish green in ground color, 

 streaked with dark olive brown, and having a few spots of the same color on the 

 surface, and with underlying markings of grayish brown. The second differs in 

 having the ground color buff, and the underlying spots more inclined to violet 

 gray." During the autumn the broods of young hawfinches lead a family life, mak- 

 ing frequent inroads into the kitchen gardens to feed upon peas; the pods of which 

 are easily opened by their powerful mandibles. In winter the hawfinch sometimes 

 conquers its shyness sufficiently to approach houses, and even to partake of crumbs 

 thrown upon the lawn; but this is in hard weather, when the birds are driven to ex- 

 tremities. It should be noted that the injuries inflicted on the garden are compen- 

 sated by the destruction which the hawfinch carries out among noxious insects; its 

 food during the early months of the summer consisting principally of caterpillars. 

 The general color of the adult male is chocolate brown above, with a broad collar 

 of ashy gray separating the crown of the head from the mantle; the lower back, 

 rump, and upper tail coverts are cinnamon brown; the wings black, glossed with 

 steel blue at the end of the square-shaped inner primaries and outer secondaries; 

 the primaries have a large spot of white about the middle of the inner web; the 

 tail feathers are blackish, edged with brown, the outer feathers being tipped with 

 white on the inner web; while the throat is black, and the lower parts vinaceous 

 brown. 



In these birds the bill is very heavy, the lower mandible being as 

 18 * deep as the upper; the wing is longer than the tail, and pointed, the 

 etc ' secondaries falling short of the primaries by more than the length of 



the metatarsus, while the feet are short and stout. These birds are 

 found in North America generally, ranging throughout Central America to Colom- 

 bia, Ecuador, and the Antilles. The common rose-breasted grosbeak (Hedymeles 

 virginianus) is well known in the United States, where it is valued for its 

 handsome plumage and charming song. Dr. Coues gives the following account 

 of its habits: "I have nowhere found this beautiful bird more abundant than 



