84 FOREIGN FINCHES IN CAPTIVITY. 



of various grasses. The heavier and coarser materials are well 

 disposed on the outside, the bowl of the nest being thickly lined in 

 most cases, with the fine stems of the Kentucky blue-grass (Poa 

 pratensis). The nests are generally built quite low, about five or six 

 feet from the ground, and are well-concealed in the tangled vines 

 and shrubbery, where they are located. The eggs are generally three 

 in number ; sometimes there are only two, rarely four. The nests 

 are frequently sought out by that miserable interloper, the Cow- 

 Bunting, and I have on frequent occasions discovered that this bird, 

 which has the habits of the European Cuckoo, has deposited an egg 

 in the nest of a Cardinal. 



"The Red-birds in the South, where I had opportunity to study 

 their habits most closely, feed largely on the berries of the Juniper, or 

 red cedar, and upon the clusters of the wild grape which abounds in 

 the lowlands along the rivers. They are also very fond of seeds 

 of various sorts, and with their powerful beaks are able even to 

 break the hard grains of the maize, or Indian Corn. They are also 

 highly insectivorous, and their diet consists, to a large extent, of grass- 

 hoppers, beetles, and the larvae of Lepidoptera. 



" The clear musical note of the male, combined with his brilliant 

 plumage, have made the Cardinal a favourite cage-bird. Our mutual 

 acquaintance, Mr. Garner, has attracted attention to himself by his 

 researches in regard to the language of monkeys. All the higher 

 animals possessing vocal organs, have the power of communicating with 

 each other to some extent, and one of the most beautiful illustrations of 

 this fact, which I have ever noticed, came under my observation in 

 connection with the lovely bird of which I am writing. 



" Some years ago I was paying a brief visit to friends residing in 

 Atchison, Kansas, and one afternoon, took a long collecting excursion 

 beyond the western suburbs of the place. The afternoon was hot, and 

 after climbing a low hill, which commanded a view of a narrow valley 

 about half a mile in length, I lay down under the shadow of a tree to 

 rest. As I was lying there, far off, to my left, I heard the clear call of a 

 Cardinal. Presently, to my right, I heard it answered, but the answer 

 was so faint by reason of the distance that I could scarcely distinguish 

 it. A moment elapsed, and the call from the left was repeated, and again 

 answered from the right. Thus, from moment to moment, the call 

 and its answer were heard, constantly growing louder, until at last I 

 saw the flashing crimson of the wing of the male bird as it pitched on 

 the top of a small tree to my right, and almost at the same moment, 

 further down the glade, I caught sight of the darker plumaged female 



