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HAWFINCH OR GROSBEAK.— Cofco(7traMsto vulgaris. 



used to make a regular business of rearing the young of other birds which were placed 

 under his charge, and thereby earning a considerable sum of money in the course of a 

 season. She had often been offered a high price for her bird, but always refused to sell 

 him, impelled either by hope of gain or by love of the bird : we may hope that the latter 

 feeling predominated. 



In its native land the Cardinal Grosbeak is most common in the Southern States, and 

 in some localities is migratory, while in others it remains throughout the year. " In the 

 Northern States," says Wilson, " they are migratory, but in the lower parts of Pennsylvania 

 they reside during the whole year, frequenting the borders of creeks and rivulets, in 

 sheltered hollows covered with holly, laurel, and other evergreens. They love also to 

 reside in the vicinity of fields of Indian corn, a grain that contributes their chief and 

 favourite food. The seeds of apples, cherries, and of many other sorts of fruit are also 

 eaten by them, and they are accused of destroying bees." 



Many of these splendid birds are now brought to England as inhabitants of the 

 aviary, and are found to be hardy birds, able to withstand the inclemency of the English 

 climate. Many of them may be seen living in the Crystal Palace and in other buildings 

 where caged birds are kept. It is a remarkable fact, that in confinement the Cardinal 

 Grosbeak is very apt to change its colour, the bright scarlet and vermilion fading to a 

 dull whitish red ; probably the effect of insufficient or improper food. When carefully 

 tended, it is a really healthy and long-lived bird, having been known to survive for a space 

 of twenty years in a cage. 



The nest of the Cardinal Grosbeak is generally placed in a holly, cedar, laurel, or 

 other thick evergreen, and is made of slender sticks, weeds, strips of bark, and fine 

 grass-stems. The eggs are generally five in number, and their colour is dull grey-white 

 covered with numerous blotches of brownish olive. There are generally two broods in 

 the season. 



England possesses a good example of this group in the weU-knoAvn Hawfinch, or 

 Grosbeak. 



This bird was once thought to be exceedingly scarce, but is now known to be anything 

 but uncommon, although it is rarely seen, owing to its very shy and retiring habits, which 

 lead it to eschew the vicinity of man and to bury itself in the recesses of forests. So 



