BIRDS AND BIRDS 145 



that is repeated on a smaller scale in a permanent 

 resident, is the pine grosbeak ; his alter ego, reduced 

 in size, is the purple finch, which abounds in the 

 higher latitudes of the temperate zone. The color 

 and form of the two birds are again essentially the 

 same. The females and young males of both species 

 are of a grayish brown like the sparrow, while in the 

 old males this tint is imperfectly hidden beneath a 

 coat of carmine, as if the color had been poured 

 upon their heads, where it is strongest, and so oozed 

 down and through the rest of the plumage. Their 

 tails are considerably forked, their beaks cone-shaped 

 and heavy, and their flight undulating. Those who 

 have heard the grosbeak describe its song as similar 

 to 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 waxwing, 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. Sev- 

 eral other flights of them have occurred during the 



