SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 201 



The cardinal grossbeak, or Virginia red- 

 bird, is quite common in the same localities, 

 though more inclined to seek the woods. It 

 is much sought after by bird-fanciers, and 

 by boy gunners, and consequently is very 

 shy. This bird suggests a British red-coat ; 

 his heavy, pointed beak, his high cockade, 

 the black stripe down his face, the expres- 

 sion of weight and massiveness about his 

 head and neck, and his erect attitude, give 

 him a decided soldierlike appearance ; and 

 there is something of the tone of the fife in 

 his song or whistle, while his ordinary note, 

 when disturbed, is like the clink of a sabre. 

 Yesterday, as I sat indolently swinging in 

 the loop of a grape-vine, beneath a thick 

 canopy of green branches, in a secluded nook 

 by a spring run, one of these birds came, 

 pursuing some kind of insect, but a few 

 feet above me. He hopped about, now and 

 then uttering his sharp note, till, some moth 

 or beetle trying to escape, he broke down 

 through the cover almost where 1 sat. The 

 effect was like a firebrand coming down 

 through the branches. Instantly catching 

 sight of me, he darted away much alarmed. 

 The female is tinged with brown, and shows 

 but little red except when she takes flight. 



