154 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 



a foil to him as her cousins, the plain little pur- 

 ple finch and indigo-bird are to their handsome 

 husbands. She looked decidedly like a sparrow, 

 and had patches of saffron-yellow under her 

 wings, where the male had carmine. Both had 

 heavy finch bills. His was yellow, and he scraped 

 it on the side of a branch as a man would sharpen 

 a knife on a whetstone first on one side and 

 then on the other. Perhaps we should -say, men 

 sharpen their knives as birds do their bills, for it 

 is more likely that the birds set the fashion ! 



The song of the grosbeak is loud, clear, and 

 sweet, with a rhythm like the tanager's. It is 

 a longer song, however, with the rough edges 

 rounded off, and has, moreover, something of the 

 oriole quality. The call note is as characteristic 

 as the chip chirr of the tanager. It is a thin, 

 unsteady kick, and usually prefaces the song. 



The nest of the grosbeak in " Paradise " was 

 in the border of a thicket, almost within our 

 reach, and when we discovered it, Mr. Grosbeak's 

 big black head and yellow bill were protruding 

 over the edge. We could not help laughing at 

 this domestic turn, he looked so out of place ; 

 but we liked him all the better for minding the 

 babies while his wife took a rest. 



