CARDINAL GROSBEAK. 109 



from the weeds and sought shelter in these bushes. I went in pursuit of them in order to 

 ascertain what they were, when my attention was attracted by a chirp not unlike that of 

 the Fox-colored Sparrow, yet it seemed sharper. I could not imagine what the author of 

 this cry could be, so advanced cautiously, at the same time peering into the undergrowth, 

 when suddenly a brightly colored bird dashed across a small opening, looking like a flash 

 of red light. I then recognized the Cardinal Grosbeak but was quite surprised to find that 

 they frequented low hushes. This, however, has been their habit wherever I have chanced 

 to meet them. On the Sea Islands they are common along the borders of the cotton fields 

 and were very abundant, late in October, in low bushes on the banks of the famous Deep 

 Cut of the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal. An apparent inclination to sociability causes 

 them to ilock even during winter, on the approach of spring this feeling increases and large 

 numbers assemble in order to feed upon the newly ripened seeds of maple which are nearly 

 ready to fall early in February. I have seen upwards of twenty feeding on one small tree 

 and, as it was destitute of leaves, the brightly plumaged birds gave it a singular appear- 

 ance. When eating they are silent but never quiet, and while jumping from limb to limb, 

 clinging to the under side of a branch, or swinging from some topmost bough in order to 

 reach a tempting cluster of seeds, they assume various graceful positions. A little later 

 in the season they may be seen searching for seeds and insects on the ground, for which 

 purpose they frequently scratch among the fallen leaves after the manner of the Towhee 

 Banting. 



All through the winter they are comparatively silent, but when the jasiminc begins 

 to >liow its yellow flowers and the air is fragrant with its perfume, the full, clear notes of 

 the Cardinal may be heard from morning until evening. Their exceedingly fine song and 

 brilliant plumage attracts universal attention and consequently the Red Birds, as they are 

 always called in the South, are general favorites. Confident of not being disturbed they 

 build their nests near dwellings, in fact, like the Mocking Birds, they appear to seek the 

 presence of man as a protection from natural, enemies, and thus are rarely found in unin- 

 habited sections. 



In Florida the nests are frequently placed in orange trees about five feet from the 

 ground. The eggs are deposited about the middle of April when the orange blossoms are 

 filling the air with their delightful odor. The females sit very closely and I have nearly 

 placed my hand on them before they would fly. There were never over three eggs in the 

 nests which t found in Florida but further north they lay four as a regular number. This 

 circumstance would, at first thought, seem to indicate that the Cardinals of Florida posses 

 igtr, but I think it is rather due to the fact that they breed oftener than those fur- 

 ther north. The eggs are also larger. Both sexes exhibit great solicitude on being dis- 

 turbed when breeding, uttering their sharp cry of alarm which causes all the birds of the 

 same speciVs in the immediate vicinity to assemble. Then in a few moments one will be 

 surrounded by quite a quantity of the red-plumaged Cardinals. There arc always numbers 

 within call as they breed in communities, and I have found at least a dozen nests in one 

 small grove. The assembled Cardinals will hop restlessly about, with crests devated, 

 showing the utmost sympathy for the pair that are in trouble. This fellow feeling is not 

 only evinced during the breeding season but this bird is one of the most compassionate that 



