CARDINAL. 207 



singers have dropped from the chorus that his voice be- 

 comes conspicuous. 



Not far away his mate is doubtless sitting on her blu- 

 ish white eggs in a nest low down in the crotch of a bush. 

 He in his deep indigo costume may be easily identified, 

 but she is a dull brownish bird, about the size of a Ca- 

 nary, sparrowlike in appearance, though with unstreaked 

 plumage, and a difficult bird to name, even when you 

 have a specimen in your hand, while in the bush, if silent, 

 she is a puzzle. But she is far too good a mother not to 

 protest if you venture too near her home, and her sharp 

 pit orpeet usually calls her mate, whom you will recog- 

 nize at once. 



The Cardinal is about the size of a Towhee, with 

 plumage which, except for a black throat, is almost 



wholly rosy red. Seeing a mounted 

 Cardinal, i^ ,. , . , . . , , 



Cardinal cardinal Cardinal, one might imagine that he 



was a conspicuous bird in life and easy 

 to observe ; but the truth is -that, in spite of his bright 

 colors, the Cardinal is a surprisingly difficult bird to see. 

 You may often hear his sharp, insignificant tsip without 

 catching a glimpse of the caller, so well can he conceal 

 himself. His olive-brown mate is, of course, even more 

 difficult to find, and when you do see her you would 

 hardly suspect the relationship were it not for her actions 

 and the striking crest worn by both sexes. 



The Cardinal's song is a rich, sympathetic whistle. 

 His mate also sings at times, and I carry in my memory 

 a musical courting I once observed, in which a pair of 

 these beautiful birds were the actors. The song begins 

 with whee-you, whee-you, long-drawn notes, which are 

 followed by a more rapid hurry, hurry, hurry ; quick, 

 quick, quick, and other notes difficult of description. 

 The Cardinal is a bird of the Southern rather than of 

 the Northern States, and is rarely seen north of New 



