Plate LXVIII. 



Fig. 11. ZAMELOD/A LUDOVICIANA-Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is one of our most beautiful birds in song as well as in plumage. It 

 arrives the last of April or the first of May, and remains until September or later. In Southern and 

 Central Ohio it seldom breeds, and is not a very common migrant, but in the northern counties it is a 

 common summer resident. Dr. Wheaton once found its nest on the bank of the Olentansy River, near 

 Columbus; Audubon states that he discovered its nest and eggs in the vicinity of Cincinnati; and Dr. 

 Kirtland and Mr. Read speak of its nest as plentiful about Cleveland. But one brood is usually reared 

 during a season. 



LOCALITY : 



The nest is placed in a tree or tall bush, either in high or low woodland, though the preference is 

 decidedly in favor of the wooded bank of a stream. A cranberry marsh or a thicket among sycamore 

 trees is said to be a common locality for the nest in Northern Ohio. 



POSITION: 



It is usually from six to twenty feet from the ground, and is supported by a number of small branches 

 or twigs near the center of the tree. Dr. Hoy, of Racine, found six out of seven nests between six and 

 ten feet from the ground, in the central portion of the tops of thorn-trees. Other observers have also 

 noticed a liking on the part of this bird for the thorn-tree as a place for nesting. 



MATERIALS : 



Dr. Brewer describes the nest as follows: "Their nests are coarsely built, with a base composed of 

 waste stubble, fragments of leaves, and stems of plants. These are intermingled with and strengthened 

 by twigs and coarser stems. They have a diameter of eight inches, and a height of three and a half. 

 The upper portion of the nest is usually composed of dry usnea mosses, mingled with a few twigs, and 

 lined with finer twigs. Its cavity is three inches in diameter, and one in depth, being quite shallow for 

 so large a nest." Dr. Coues, in "Birds of the North-west," says: "I have nowhere found this beautiful 

 bird more abundant than along the Red River of the North, and there may be no locality where its 

 nidification and breeding habits can be studied to greater advantage. On entering the belt of noble timber 

 that borders the river, in June, we are almost sure to be saluted with the rich, rolling song of the rose- 

 breasted male, and as we penetrate into the deeper recesses, pressing through the stubborn luxuriance of 

 vegetation into the little shady glades that the bird loves so well, we may catch a glimpse of the shy 

 and retiring female, darting into concealment, disturbed by our approach. She is almost sure to be 

 followed the next moment by her ardent spouse, solicitous for her safety, bent on reassuring her by his 

 presence and cai'esses. Sometimes during this month, as we enter a grove of saplings, and glance care- 



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