OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 259 



notes are sweet, varied, and mellow, slightly re- 

 sembling the song of C. tristris, but quite distinct 

 from it. 



Its food consists of the seeds of grasses and 

 weeds, together with various berries. In the 

 autumn after its arrival it subsists upon the berries 

 of ymdperus Virginiana, J. comnmnis, Lonicera 

 periclymenum ; and, later, upon the seeds of Pinus 

 strobus, P. mops, Abies nigra, A. canadensis, Betula 

 excelsa, and B. nigra. The eggs and pupae of 

 Cratonyckus cinereus, C pzrtinax. and the eggs of 

 many of the Aphidte and -Cocddtz. Early in the 

 spring these birds subsist upon aphides, small 

 spiders, and the larvae of Anisopieryx vz'r/iaia, A. 

 pomztaria, and mature forms of the smaller Noc- 

 tuidce and Tincidce, and Formica sanguinea. The 

 buds of the maple, apple, and cherry, and the suc- 

 culent cones of various species of Pinus are 

 eagerly devoured. 



This species does riot breed in our midst. 

 According to Dr. Brewer, early in May, 1859, a 

 nest was found in the garden of Prof. Benjamin 

 Peirce in Cambridge, Mass., by Frederick Ware, 

 Esq. The base of this structure was a mass of 

 loose materials, lower portions of the sides scarcely 

 different, with the upper and inner parts impactly 

 and neatly felted together. Externally, were 

 noticed twigs of Thuja, grasses, carices, fine roots, 

 fine vegetable stalks, ends of pine twigs, coarse 

 hair, and scraps of wool. Internally, there was a 

 close lining of fine roots of herbaceous plants, and 



