FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



313 



iig to think 

 ncs. 



nxious spirit 

 lairs >,''mitJy 

 e pain tlian 



'■ Miller. 



SSBKAK. All, 



'Verts bright 

 wJiite helly; 

 it tho base; 

 >. Ad. 9.— 

 )ale grayish 

 conspicuous 

 ■ing- coverts 

 f'y, streaked 

 the under 



iw and the 

 Maine and 



t. 1. Sing 

 men S. K., 



OS, five to 

 -brown or 



n<l more 



of (JUCS- 



It is a 



G of him 



mistak- 



lis more 



^o little 



S])arro\v 



arcd to 

 ow that 

 '• one of 

 OS than 

 irity in 

 noss of 

 imisic. 

 y sytn- 



pathize, pitying the man whose heart does not leap with enthusiasm 

 at the sight of rival males dashing through the woods like winged 

 meteors, leaving in their wake a train of sparkling notes. 



The Bi,ACK-nEAnEiJ Gp.osnEAK (.'.W. Ilahia melanocephala)^ a western 

 species, lias been recorded from Michigan. 



597. Guiraca CSBrulea (Linn.). Bue Grosbeak. A(1. i .—Deep 

 blue; lores and cliiii black; back blackish; wings and tail black, slightly 

 edged with blue; middle wing-coverts widely, and greater coverts narrowly 

 tipped with ciiestnut-rufous. Ail. 9. — Upper parts grayish brown; in some 

 specimens more or less blue about tlie head and rump and les.-<er wing-cov- 

 erts; rump incliued to ashy ; wings fuscous, tlie greater and middle coverts 

 tipped with ochraceous-butf ; tail fuscous, slightly margined with bluish gray; 

 under parts brownish cream-bulf, tlie feathers of the brea.st sometimes blue ut 

 the ba.sc, Im. 6 .—Resembles the 9 • L., 7-00; W., S-SO; T., 2-75; B., -C'). 



Eange. — United States ; breeds from aijout latitude 38° southward into 

 Me.vico; winters south of our limits. 



Washington, very uncommon S. R., May 1 to Sept. 30. Cambridge, A. V., 

 one instance. May. 



Kent, of grasses, in buslies or high weedy growths. Eggs, three to four, 

 -pale bluish white, -S-l x •(')'). 



" Unless seen under the most favorable circumstances the adult 

 male does not appear to be blue, but of an ill-defined, dusky color, and 

 may easily, be mistaken for a Cow Blackbird (Molothnis ater), unless 

 most carefully watched ; besides, they usually sit motionless, in a 

 watchful attitude, for a considerable length of time, and thus easily 

 escape observation. 



"The Blue Grosbeak frequents much the .same localities as those 

 selected by the Indigo Bird and Field Sparrow — viz., the thickets of 

 shrubs, briers, and tall weeds lining a stream flowing across a meadow 

 or bordering a field, or the similar growth which has sprung up in an 

 old clearing. The usual note is a strong, harsh pfchick, and the song 

 of the male is a very beautiful though rather feeble warble, somewhat 

 like tliat of the Purple Finch, but bearing a slight resemblance also to 

 that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak" (Hidgway). 



598. Passerina Cyanea (Linn.). Ixoroo Bcn-tixo; iNnroo-ninn. 

 A'/. S . — Rich blue, deeper on tiie head, brighter on the back ; lores blackish ; 

 wings and tail black, martrined witli blue. Aif. 9 . — Upper parts uniform 

 grayisli l)ro'.vn without streaks; wings and tail fuscous, sometimes lightly 

 margined with l)luish ; wing-coverts margined with grayish brown ; under 

 parts whitish, washed with grayish brown and indistinctly streaked with 

 darker; belly whiter, /m.— Resembles the 9, but is darker. Ad. s in win- 

 ^7'.— Resembles tlie 9 , but lias more or less blue In the plumage. L., O'aO; 

 W., 2-58; T., 2-11; B., '41. 





