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Birds of Massachusetts. 151 
sound proceeds. At other times he has a song, 
which bears some resemblance to that of the red- 
eye, excepting that it is more continuous and un- 
broken. Were it not that the eye is charmed by the 
beauty of his scarlet and glossy black, as it glows 
against the foliage in the sun, his musical powers 
would be more highly estimated. There is nothing 
to be set off against these recommendations. He 
cannot be accused of any kind of depredation. His 
food consists of insects, and of these, he is particu- 
larly fond of the wasp, one of our greatest fruit 
destroyers. Sometimes he feeds on berries and 
seeds, but they are not taken from the garden. 
These birds arrive toward the last of May, and 
immediately begin to build, generally on the large 
bow of an oak, but sometimes on an orchard tree. 
The nest is loosely put together. The eggs are 
three or four, bluish, spotted with purple and 
brown. They are very affectionate toward their 
young. If any one approaches the nest, the female 
is in great distress. As soon as they require food, 
the male supplies it, and so anxious is he for their 
welfare, that he has been known to follow one of 
them for half a mile, and as he could not release it, 
to feed it through the wires of its cage, and roost in 
the same tree by night. At the beginning of Au- 
gust, the male assumes the green and yellow dress 
of the female, and in company with their young, 
they set off for their winter quarters. 
The Inpieo Bp, Tringilla cyanea, is a spirited 
and beautiful summer resident, well known in every 
