82



Mr. Hubert D. Astley,



“ serenade of the Rose-breasted bird; so rich, so mellow, so loud in

“ the stillness of the night, that sleep fled from my eyelids. Never

“ did I enjoy music more : it thrilled through my heart, and sur-

“ rounded me with an atmosphere of bliss.”


“ I have frequently observed this beautiful species early in

“the month of March, in the lower parts of Louisiana, making its

“ way eastward ; and when residing at Henderson in Kentucky, and

“ in Cincinnati in Ohio, I have noticed the same circumstance. At

“ this early period it passes at a considerable height in the air, and

“ now and then alights on the tops of the tallest trees of the forest,

“as if to rest awhile. While on the wing, it utters a clear note, but

“ when perched it remains silent, in an upright and rather stiff

“attitude. It is then easily approached. I have followed its

“migrations into Pennsylvania, New York, and other Eastern States,

“through the British provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,

“ as far as Newfoundland, where many breed, but I saw none in

“ Labrador. It is never seen in the maritime parts of Georgia, or

“ those of the Carolinas, but some have been procured in the moun-

“ tainous portions of those States. I have found them rather plenti-

“ ful in the early part of May, along the steep banks of the Schuylkil

“ River, twenty or thirty miles from Philadelphia, and observed that

“at that season they fed mostly on the buds of the trees, their

“ tender blossoms, and upon insects which they catch on the wing,

“ making short sallies for the purpose.”


“ The most western place in which I found the nest of this

“ species was within a few miles of Cincinnati on the Ohio. It was

“placed in the upright forks of a low bush, and differed so much in

“ its composition from those which I had seen in the Eastern States

“ that it greatly resembled the nest of the Blue Grosbeak. The

“ young, three in number, were ready to fly. The parents fed them

“ on the soft grains of wheat, which they procured in a neighbouring

“ field, and often searched for insects in the crannies of the bark of

“ trees, on which they alighted sideways in the manner of sparrows.

“ This was in the end of July. Generally, however, the nest of the

“ Rose-breasted Grosbeak is placed on the top branches of an alder

“ bush, near water, and usually on the borders of meadows or

“ alluvial grounds.”



