Decker: Evening Grosbeak in Greater New York 145 



so unsuspecting were they, and it would have been reasonably 

 possible to knock one down with a stick. Indeed it may have 

 been only a sense of the esthetic that kept the writer from adding 

 the male to the collection of our museum. 



A few other remarks may also be of interest. The only calls, 

 rather short whistling notes, were given by the male, and he 

 was especially conservative in this respect. The only feeding 

 actually observed was upon the black oak and was probably 

 upon some species of Coccidae common to the smaller twigs 

 of this tree. At one time, during the half hour spent observ- 

 ing the birds, the male mounted to a white oak limb twenty- 

 five feet from the ground, and stationing himself close to the trunk, 

 in one of those gnarly growths common to this tree, remained 

 there for five minutes before he was forced out. Later, at a 

 meeting of the Linnaean Society, Mr. Charles H. Rogers remarked 

 that the blue grosbeak, Guiraca caerulea caerulea, had a tendency 

 to sit around, and perhaps this was an example of the same trait. 



On the followang morning the birds were again observed in the 

 same place but did nothing of special interest. Rain kept the 

 birds from their normal routine and made things disagreeable 

 in every way for further observation. On the following days the 

 birds could not be found and doubtless had left the vicinity, though 

 a nearby pine grove offered excellent cover for the night. The 

 cedars in Fair View Cemetery also offered suitable conditions for 

 roosting. 



Though it was supposed that the birds had left the island, 

 the possibility that they had gone to the very attractive 

 grounds of the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp was considered ; 

 but not until Sunday, March 12 did the unexpected happen. 

 At 3 p. m. on this date the birds were seen in the cemetery 

 by Howard H. Cleaves, Theodore L. Hermann, and the 

 writer, and our well founded supposition was substantiated. 

 The female was first seen in a white oak but she flew away, 

 returning later, however, with the male, and together they fed 

 on the buds of a white maple until they became alarmed and 

 flew off, giving a short mellow whistle. Since then the birds 



