BIRDS OF NEW YORK 327 



Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linnaeus) 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 



Plate 85 



Loxia ludoviciana Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 12. 1766. 1:306 

 Coccoborus ludovicianus DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 146, fig. 147 

 Zamelodia ludoviciana A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 284. No. 595 

 zamelddia, Gr., W, inseparable prefix meaning very, and (AsXwSt'a, melody, song; 

 ludovicidna, of Louisiana 



Description. Beak very heavy; tail of moderate length, slightly 

 emarginate. Male: Black and white with rosy breast; head, neck and 

 upper parts mostly deep black; a white patch at the base of the primaries, 

 also the middle wing coverts white, the longer wing coverts tipped with 

 white and some of the inner secondaries spotted with white; rump mostly 

 white; 3 or 4 outer pairs of tail feathers extensively tipped with white 

 on the inner web; breast rich rosy red extending down the middle of the 

 abdomen; under wing coverts also rosy red; rest of the under parts white; 

 bill whitish, dusky at tip. Female: Resembles somewhat an overgrown 

 female Purple finch. Upper parts grayish brown streaked with darker; 

 wings with obscure wing bars; obscure whitish median line on the 

 crown; grayish white superciliary streak; under parts dingy white tinged 

 with buffy or brownish on the breast and sides and heavily streaked with 

 blackish; under wing coverts saffron yellow. Young: At first resemble 

 female; during first fall show touches of rosy on breast and under wing 

 coverts. 



Length 7.75-8.5 inches; extent 13; wing 4; tail 3; bill .7; tarsus .88. 



Distribution. This species inhabits eastern North America from Maine 

 and Manitoba south to Kansas and in the mountains to North Carolina, 

 and winters in Central and South America. In New York it is quite 

 generally distributed and fairly common throughout the Alleghanian zone, 

 and also in a large portion of the boreal zone of the Adirondacks. In the 

 coastal district, especially on Long Island (Brasher, fide A. H. Howell) 

 and in the lower Hudson valley, it is rare or at least uncommon as a summer 

 resident. In all the southern and central districts of the State it is more 

 common as a migrant than as a summer resident, arriving from the south 

 about the first of May, the dates ranging between April 24 and May 12. 

 During the migration season of early May, the rose-breasts are often found 



