BLUE GROSBEAK. l4l 



isiana about the middle of March, the males appearing eight or ten days 

 before the females, in small parties of five or six, when their common call- 

 note, a single chuck, is frequently uttered to attract the females. They 

 proceed through Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, in all which dis- 

 tricts they breed. Beyond this, however, few are to be met with. I 

 never observed this species on the Mississippi farther up than the neigh- 

 bourhood of Natchez ; nor is it ever seen in Kentucky, or in any other 

 part of the western country. Along the Atlantic coast, it is rarely found 

 beyond the State of New Jersey. 



It is remarkable that, although this bird seldom places its nest more 

 than a few feet from the ground, it is fond of ascending to the tops of the 

 tallest detached trees, to sing, during the spring and summer, rarely per- 

 forming that pleasant duty among the low bushes which it usually in- 

 habits. 



One or two pairs of these birds generally take possession of a field, for 

 the purpose of breeding, making choice of one little frequented by other 

 birds. There, in the most secluded part, the Blue Grosbeak builds its 

 nest, placing it in the upright fork of some small slender bush, or attach- 

 ing it to the tall blades of a tuft of rank grass. It is composed of fine 

 dried grasses, which are more carefully arranged towards the interior, and 

 is lined with a few delicate fibrous roots, dried moss, or horse-hair. There 

 are seldom more than four eggs, but two broods are raised in the season. 

 When the first broods leave their parents, the young birds assemble in 

 small flocks composed of a few families, and resort mostly to the rice 

 fields, feeding on the grain when yet in its milky state, and until it is ga- 

 thered. The parents join them with their second brood, and shortly af- 

 ter, or about the first days of September, they all depart southward. 



In the summer of 1829, I accidentally met with a nest of these birds 

 in the State of New Jersey, a few miles only from Philadelphia. I Avas 

 attracted towards it by the cries of the birds, both of which were perched 

 on a tall hickory tree, standing on a piece of barren ground, near a swamp 

 well known on account of the visits it receives during the Woodcock sea- 

 son. I looked for the nest for some time in vain. The parents left the 

 tree, flew about as if much alarmed and distressed, and at last alighted 

 on the ground not far from me. Following them gradually, I saw them 

 go up to one of their young, and on reaching the place, saw the nest in a 

 low bush of the dogwood. In it were two young ones, dead, and covered 

 with large insects. Presently I heard the chirp of a fourth, which I found 



