﻿514 Canadian Record of Science. 



nowhere as plentiful as it should be. It frequents groves 

 and orchards rather than gardens or dooryards, but 

 probably the beauty of the male is the greatest obstacle to 

 its increase ; the fully adult bird is pure black and white, 

 with a broad patch of brilliant rose color upon the breast 

 and under each wing. On account of this attractive 

 plumage the birds are highly prized for ladies' hats ; and 

 consequently have been shot in season and out till the 

 wonder is not that there are so few, but that they remain 

 at all. 



When the Colorado potato beetle first swept over the 

 land, and naturalists and farmers were anxious to discover 

 whether or not there were any enemies which would prey 

 upon the pest, the grosbeak was almost the only bird seen 

 to eat the beetles. Further observation confirmed the 

 fact, and there can be no reasonable doubt that where the 

 bird is abundant it has contributed very much to the 

 abatement of the pest which has been noted during the 

 last decade. But this is not the only good which the bird 

 does, for many other noxious insects besides the potato 

 beetle are also eaten. 



The vegetable food of the grosbeak consists of buds and 

 blossoms of forest trees, and seeds, but the only damage of 

 which it has been accused is the stealing of green peas. 

 The writer has observed it eating peas and has examined 

 the stomachs of several that had been killed in the very 

 act. The stomachs contained a few peas and enough 

 potato beetles, old and young, as well as other harmful 

 insects, to pay for all the peas the birds would be likely to 

 eat in a whole season. The garden where this took place 

 adjoined a small potato field which earlier in the season 

 had been so badly infested with the beetles that the vines 

 were completely riddled. The grosbeaks visited the field 

 every day, and finally brought their Hedged young. The 

 young birds stood in a row on the topmost rail of the 

 fence and were fed with the beetles which their parents 



