ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, 



of a tree. The last, however, is not an uncommon posi- 

 tion for him, and I recollect being greatly puzzled by an 

 eccentric form of his song coming from the very top of 

 a giant oak on or near the estate of Mr. A. Hemenway, 

 near the Blue Hills, Mass. It was the first time I had 

 heard the song composed of a single sustained tone and 

 the so-called trill. 



His common call, chewirik, certainly should be recog- 

 nized by every one; it is composed of two distinct tones 

 rapidly whistled, with a rising inflection approximately 

 covering a sixth, and characterized by an overtone which 

 I have already explained is best imitated by humming 

 and whistling simultaneously. 



Che-wink! 



This large and bustling Finch is famous for his devo- 

 tion to the leaf-strewn ground beneath thickets and 

 brush-heaps; there he will be found in spring grubbing 

 with an intensity of purpose only equalled by the Fox 

 Sparrow or the itinerant hen ! An ornithological friend 

 told me he once saw an energetic Fox Sparrow scratch- 

 ing with both feet in concert, not alternately after the 

 manner of the slow barn fowl ! 



Rose-breasted The charming Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

 resplendent in his striking costume of 

 black, white, and crimson, is one of the 

 L. 8.10 inches sweetest singers in this part of our coun- 

 May i ath try. He is a robust fellow with an over- 

 large, parrotlike, yellow ivory -colored bill, a somewhat 

 nervous, restless temperament, and a special penchant 

 for the trees of the orchard or grove. He is not as com- 

 mon as he ought to be, which is in part, at least, due to 

 9 199 



