The Hawfinch. - 



-BIKDS.■ 



-The Cardinal Grosbeak. 



aoi 



brown, and the lower surface pale nutmeg-brown ; 

 round the base of the bill there is a black line, from 

 which a patch extends on each side to the eye ; the 

 throat also presents a black patch ; the wings are 

 black, with the larger wing-coverts white, and the 

 fifth and four following primaries exhibit a yery pecu- 

 liar form, bemg notched at the tip on the inside, and 

 terminated on the outside with elongated and curved 

 barbs, which form a sort of hook. The tail feathers 

 are black at the base and white at the tip, except tlie 

 two middle ones, which are grayish-brown with white 

 apices. 



The Ilawfinch is foiuid all over Europe, abundantly 

 in the southern and central parts of that continent, but 

 more rarely towards the north. In this country it is 

 lirotty generally distributed, and remains with us 

 throughout the year; but, from its extreme shyness, 

 it is but seldom seen, and hence was long regarded 

 oiilj' as an occasional \isitor to Britain. Its favourite 

 places of abode are the secluded parts of our woods 

 and forests, where it feeds on seeds and berries, occa- 

 sionally during the summer making a descent upon 

 tlie gardens in the vicinity, to devour green peas, of 

 which it appears to be very fond. In Epping Forest, 

 according to Mr. H. Doubleday, the principal food of 

 the Ilawfinch is the seeds of the hornbeam. The nest 

 of this bird is built sometimes in a bush, and some- 

 times amongst the branches of a tree ; it is composed 

 of twigs, intermixed with a larger or smaller quantity of 

 fragments of graj' lichen ; the latter is never wanting, 

 and sometimes constitutes the greater part of the nest. 

 The materials are loosely put together, and the cavity 

 is lined with fine roots and hair. The eggs are from 

 four to six in number, of a pale olive colour, spotted 

 with black, and streaked with gray. The only other 

 known species of the genus Cocculliraustes is the 

 Japanese Grosbeak {C. japonici(s). 



THE BLUE GROSBEAK {Guiraca caruku), a native 

 of the southern United Slates of North America, resem- 

 bles our British species in its shy and retiring habits. 

 It is of a rich purplish-blue colour above, with the 

 wings and tail black. Its length is about six inches. 



THE AZURE GROSBEAK {Gairaca cyanea), an inhab- 

 itant of Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay, is of a sky-blue 

 colour, with the checks black, and the wings blackish ; 

 the fail feathers are black, with the margins blue. The 

 length of this bird is also about six ii.ches. 



THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK {Guiraca ludo- 

 riciana), a native of the United States, measures 

 upwards of eight inches in length, and is of a black 

 colour, with white spots on the wings, and white tips 

 to several of the tail feathers ; the lower part of the 

 breast and the middle of the belly are rose colour. 

 This handsome bird appears to be rather rare in the 

 United States. Wilson states that it is observed in New 

 Yoik and New England, especially in the autumn, 

 when it feeds on the seeds of the ripe berries of the 

 sour gum. Its song is said to be mellow and clear. 



THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK {Cardiimlis virginiana), 

 another North American species, receives his name 

 from the general red colcHu- of his plumage. He is 

 dusky red above and bright vermilion beneath ; a 

 black band surrounds the base of his bill, his head is 



adorned with a large pointed crest, which he can ele- 

 vate at pleasure, and his very strong bill is of a bright 

 coral-red colour. The whole length of the male bird 

 is eight mchcs. The female is a little smaller than 

 her partner, and has the upper part brownish-olive, 

 with the tail, wings, and tip of the crest red ; the lower 

 surface in this sex is reddish-drab. 



The male Cardinal Grosbeak is a beautiful songster, 

 and is often kept in cages in the United States, where 

 his notes are so much admired that he is often called 

 the Virginia Nightingale. The female is also said to 

 possess a song but little inferior to that of her mate. 

 The males, when confined together, fight violently, and 

 Wilson says that the male will often destroy the female 

 when both are kept in the same cage. This bird feeds 

 on gi'ain and seeds of various kinds, and exhibits a 

 great partiality for maize. Its nest is usually placed 

 in a bush, and composed of small twigs, dried herbage, 

 and strijis of bark, lined with fine grass. 



THE THICK-BILLED GROUND-FINCH (Gcosjiiza 

 mar/nirostn'.^-). — Savcral peculiar species of birds, most 

 nearly allied to the preceding, are found in the Gala- 

 pagos islands, forming four genera, which have no 

 representatives in other parts of the world. Of these 

 the most remarkable are the Ground-finches, stoutly 

 built birds with very powerful bills, of wliich the base 

 of the upper mandible advances considerably upon the 

 forehead. These birds feed in flocks upon the ground, 

 usually in the dry and rocky districts near the coast, 

 where, by scratching in the cindery soil with their 

 powerfiJ bills and claws, they obtain the seeds of grasses 

 and other plants, which form an evanescent vegetation 

 upon those desert shores during the rainy season. 

 There are eight known species of this genus. 



THE CLIMBING CACTUS BIRD {Cnclornis scandrns). 

 — This bird resembles the preceding in its general 

 structure, but possesses a much longer bill, ver}' like 

 that of the North American crow blackbirds in its 

 form. It measures about five inches in length, and 

 the male is of a sooty black colour, whilst the female 

 is brown and spotted with white, especially on the 

 lower surface. This bird is found principally about 

 a peculiar species of cactus {Ojmiilia Galapageia), 

 which grows abundantly upon the islands of the Gala- 

 pagos group. Upon these plants the birds climb in 

 every possible position, feeding both upon the fruit and 

 flowers. They also not unfrequently descend to the 

 groimd in search of seeds, which they obtain in the 

 same way as the ground-finches. Two other species 

 of this genus have been described. 



The habits of the two nearly allied genera {Cama- 

 rhynchus and Certhidea) are not known ; the former 

 has a short and thick bill, like Gcospiza ; the latter 

 has a slender bill, and presents a considerable resem- 

 blance to a Creeper {Certlda). 



THE PHILIPPINE WEAVER-BIRD {PlocatB iihilip- 

 ivnns). — Several species of the Gro.sbeaks build a 

 curious pensile nest, composed of the stalks of grasses 

 very neatly and closely interwoven; but the most 

 elegant structures of this kind are the nests made by 

 some nearly allied Finches, to which, on this account, 

 the name of Weaver-bird has been applied. They 

 inhabit the warmer parts of the Eastern hemisphere, 



