312 OUR NATIVE SONGSTERS. 



a superior song. Beclistein considers that its 

 song is not very agreeable, consisting only of a 

 low Avliistling, mixed with some harsh tones. He 

 adds, however, that the tameness of this bird in 

 captivity may give pleasm-e; for timid as it is 

 when wild, it then acquires confidence, and will 

 even defend itself very courageously, by means of 

 its strong beak, from dogs and cats. Mrs. Mon- 

 tagu lieard it some mild days in winter, singing 

 some sweet, though low, plaintive notes ; and seve- 

 ral other naturalists describe its song as sweet, 

 though little varied. 



As we might suppose from its familiar name, 

 our bird feeds on the hawthorn berries. It also 

 eats the fruits of the ash, maple, elm, laurel, holly, 

 juniper, hornbeam, and service trees ; and though 

 it may care little for the plum or cherry, yet it 

 values their kernels. 



It usually builds in low, bushy trees, as the 

 hawthorn or holly; but sometimes it chooses a 

 high branch of some tall pine or fir. Instances are 

 known of its building, in two seasons following, on 

 the bough of the same tree, as if those memories 

 of past enjoyment, and those local associations, so 

 common to man, were no less shared by the bird. 



