958 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 495. 



until near Christmas-time, wiien they began 

 to appear like adult male grosbeate in full 

 spring plumage. I was not a little chagrined 

 that during September and October they 

 showed a disposition to quarrel and harass 

 one another, so that many of the feathers of 

 the tail were broken and ragged, and the birds 

 presented a rather worn and torn plumage. 

 My experience has been that with most pas- 

 serine birds, the primary quills and the feath- 

 ers of the tail are retained for the entire 

 first year without change. I had, however, 

 discovered that young Baltimore orioles 

 moulted the rectrices during the months of 

 January and February, and was, therefore, 

 prepared for a similar moult in these gros- 

 beaks, for I -find that in very highly colored 

 birds, while the primaries are not moulted 

 during the first year, but attain their brilliancy 

 either by wear or hy direct change in the color 

 of the feather, the tail feathers of such birds, 

 at least in a number of species, are moulted. 

 Any one who is familiar with the color pat- 

 tern of the rectrices of adult Baltimore orioles 

 and rose-breasted grosbeaks must be aware 

 that there is a very strongly contrasted area 

 of either black and yellow or black and white 

 on most of the feathers. To emphasize the 

 matter let me say again that Baltimore orioles 

 and rose-breasted grosbeaks both moult their 

 entire set of tail feathers during January and 

 February, and acquire by this moult the dis- 

 tinctive color pattern which is characteristic 

 of the adult bird. 



In the case of my grosbeaks, with this moult 

 of the rectrices they recovered rapidly their 

 fine appearance, and are indistinguishable at 

 the time I am writing from wild representa- 

 tives of their kind out of doors. Therefore, 

 my apprehension that they might not present 

 a fine appearance was unwarranted, for the 

 reason that I have fully explained. 



With the primaries the change seems to be 

 effected, so far as I have observed, in a dif- 

 ferent way, which I ascribe, as I have said be- 

 fore, partly to wear of the surface of each 

 feather, but, besides this, / am strongly in- 

 clined to the opinion thai there is a physical 

 change in the feather itself, which alters its 

 appearance so far as color is concerned. 



The moult was about completed by the 10th 

 of February, but previous to that time I had 

 detected a slight motion of the throat and 

 body, indicating that the two males were be- 

 ginning to sing. At first it was hardly pos- 

 sible to detect anything but the faintest sounds, 

 but in a week or ten days I could discriminate 

 the song, which I shall describe as nearly as is 

 possible, in words. The tone, on the whole, is 

 extremely musical, and has the soft plaintive 

 quality characteristic of the rose-breasted gros- 

 beak. It is very melodious, and while the 

 birds have continued to sing daily to the time 

 of this writing, no one would refer the method 

 of song to the bird in question. While it is 

 fully as prolonged as the song of the rose- 

 breasted grosbeak, as we know the bird out of 

 doors, it has not nearly the volume, and is not 

 so abruptly broken. The notes are low and 

 fiute-like and resemble strongly the kind of 

 song one associates with robins and thrushes 

 in the autumn or late summer for a short 

 period, after they have completed the moult. 

 I have had a number of competent observers 

 listen to the performances of these birds on 

 many occasions, and all agree with me that the 

 song could not be referred to the rose-breasted 

 grosbeak. It is true and entirely possible that 

 later the birds may develop a more character- 

 istic song, but inasmuch as the time ap- 

 proaches when wild rose-breasted grosbeaks 

 make their advent in this vicinity, coming 

 from their winter homes, I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that these birds have now acquired the 

 song that will characterize them throughout 

 the period of breeding. I may say that I have 

 mated two of the birds, one of the young 

 males and the female, and have secured an 

 older female from another source, with which 

 I have mated the other male bird. I trust 

 that I may be able to report, later, successful 

 efforts in breeding these birds in captivity, and 

 further data concerning the method of song 

 which may obtain amongst them. This fin- 

 ishes my remarks in regard to the rose- 

 breasted grosbeaks, and I now propose to give 

 some data in regard to meadowlarks, obtained 

 about May 25, 1903. 



I shall speak of the meadowlarks in a much 

 more general way than of the grosbeaks, as 



