164 BIRDS AND BIRDS. 



that of the finch, though no doubt it is louder and 

 stronger. The finch's instrument is a fife tuned to 

 love and not to war. He blows a clear, round note, 

 rapid and intricate, but full of sweetness and melody. 

 His hardier relative with that larger beak and deeper 

 chest must fill the woods with sounds. Audubon 

 describes its song as exceedingly rich and full. 



As in the case of the Bohemian wax-wing, this 

 bird is also common to both worlds, being found 

 through Northern Europe and Asia and the northern 

 parts of this continent. It is the pet of the pine-tree 

 and one of its brightest denizens. Its visits to the 

 States are irregular and somewhat mysterious. A 

 great flight of them occurred in the winter of 1874- 

 75. They attracted attention all over the country. 

 Several other flights of them have occurred during 

 the century. When this bird comes, it is so unac- 

 quainted with man that its tameness is delightful to 

 behold. It thrives remarkably well in captivity, and 

 in a couple of weeks will become so tame that it will 

 hop down and feed out of its master's or mistress's 

 hand. It comes from far beyond the region of the 

 apple, yet it takes at once to this fruit, or rather to 

 the seeds, which it is quick to divine, at its core. 



Close akin to these two birds, and standing in the 

 same relation to each other, are two other birds that 

 come to us from the opposite zone, the torrid, 

 namely, the blue grosbeak and his petit duplicate, 

 the indigo-bird. The latter is a common summer 

 resident with us, a bird of the groves and bushy 

 fields, where his bright ong may be heard all through 



