FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 313 



pathize, pitying the man whose heart does not leap with enthusiasm 

 at the sight of rival males dashing through the woods like winged 

 meteors, leaving in their wake a train of sparkling notes. 



The BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (596. Habia melanocephala}, a western 

 species, has been recorded from Michigan. 



597. Guiraca caerulea (Linn.}. BLUE GROSBEAK. Ad. a. Deep 

 blue ; lores and chin black ; back blackish ; wings and tail black, slightly 

 edged with blue ; middle wing-coverts widely, and greater coverts narrowly 

 -tipped with chestnut-rufous. Ad. 9 . Upper parts grayish brown ; in some 

 specimens more or less blue about the head and rump and lesser wing-cov- 

 erts; rump inclined to ashy; wings fuscous, the greater and middle coverts 

 tipped with ochraceous-buff ; tail fuscous, slightly margined with bluish gray ; 

 under parts brownish cream-buff, the feathers of the breast sometimes blue at 

 the base. Jm. 6 .Resembles the 9 . L., 7'00; W., 3-50; T., 2'75; B., -65. 



Range. United States ; breeds from about latitude 38 southward into 

 Mexico ; winters south of our limits. 



Washington, very uncommon S. K., May 1 to Sept. 30. Cambridge, A. V., 

 one instance, May. 



Nest, of grasses, in bushes or high weedy growths. Eggs, three to four, 

 pale bluish white, -84 x -65. 



"Unless seen under the most favorable circnmstanees the adult 

 male does not appear to be blue, but of an ill-defined, dusky color, and 

 may easily be mistaken for a Cow Blackbird (Molothrus ater), unless 

 most carefully watched ; besides, they usually sit motionless, in a 

 watchful attitude, for a considerable length of time, and thus easily 

 escape observation. 



" The Blue Grosbeak frequents much the same localities as those 

 selected by the Indigo Bird and Field Sparrow viz., the thickets of 

 shrubs, briers, and tall weeds lining a stream flowing across a meadow 

 or bordering a field, or the similar growth which has sprung up in an 

 old clearing. The usual note is a strong, harsh ptchick, and the song 

 of the male is a very beautiful though rather feeble warble, somewhat 

 like that of the Purple Finch, but bearing a slight resemblance also to 

 that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak" (Ridgway). 



598. Passerina cyanea (Linn.). INDIGO BUNTING ; INDIGO-BIRD. 



Ad. $ . Rich blue, deeper on the head, brighter on the back ; lores blackish ; 

 wings and tail black, margined with blue. Ad. 9 . Upper parts uniform 

 grayish brown without streaks ; wings and tail fuscous, sometimes lightly 

 margined with bluish ; wing-coverts margined with grayish brown ; under 

 parts whitish, washed with grayish brown and indistinctly streaked with 

 darker; belly whiter. Im. Resembles the 9, but is darker. Ad. $ in win- 

 ter. Resembles the 9 , but has more or less blue in the plumage. L., 5-59; 

 W., 2-58; T., 2-11; B., -41. 



