THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 



{Habia ludoviciana.) 



The summer range of the Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeaks extends from Mis- 

 souri and Virginia northward to Can- 

 ada. They rarely breed as far west as 

 Kansas and Nebraska. They winter in 

 Mexico and Central America and enter 

 the breeding district the last of April, 

 and by the last of May they have reached 

 the northern limit of their range, the 

 males being a few days in advance of the 

 females. 



The mature adult plumage of the male, 

 which is not attained the first year, is 

 very attractive. It is black above, the 

 wings are barred with white and it is 

 white below, with a large patch of beau- 

 tiful rose on the breast and under each 

 wing. The female, in keeping with her 

 timid, retiring nature, is very unassum- 

 ing in attire, being dressed in a brownish, 

 sparrow-like suit. 



The female does most of the nest build- 

 ing, but her mate assists her in the duties 

 of incubation and in providing for the 

 nestlings. He further lightens her bur- 

 den by always being near at hand, ex- 

 pressing his love and admiration in rap- 

 turous song. Mr. Chapman says: "His 

 song tells of all the gladness of a May 

 morning; I have heard few happier 

 strains of bird music." He is a faithful 

 protector. When danger threatens, the 

 timid mother bird seeks refuge among 

 the leafy branches, while he bravely hov- 

 ers near the nest manifesting his anxiety 

 in an unmistakable manner. The nest is 

 composed of a loose outer layer of coarse 

 weed stems and a thick compactly woven 

 lining of finer ones, or of rootlets. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a sweet 

 singer, his notes are mellow and liquid, 

 and though they have a plaintive tone, to 

 my ear at least, his refrain is undoubtedly 

 an expression of ecstacy. He is an in- 

 cessant songster during the breeding sea- 

 son ; from the time of his arrival till the 

 young are full fledged his simple melody 



14(5 



is reiterated throughout the day and 

 sometimes even at night. "A soft, sweet, 

 rolling warble, heard when the moon is 

 at its full on a midsummer night, is more 

 than likely to come from the Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak." He has a most 

 amiable and happy disposition, is not 

 quarrelsome or meddlesome, yet he is 

 ever ready to defend his own rights and 

 those of his neighbors as well. In veri- 

 fication of the statement that he proves 

 himself a most desirable bird neighbor, a 

 neighbor in the truest sense of the word, 

 I will relate an incident that recently 

 came under my observation. A pair of 

 these birds and a pair of robins located in 

 the same tree and without the least show 

 of hostility upon the part of either occu- 

 pied themselves with their respective 

 household duties. One morning a thiev- 

 ish jay came sneaking through the 

 branches, evidently upon mischief bent, 

 and finding the robins absent no doubt 

 thought himself safe in pillaging their 

 home. But the ever-watchful Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak, who was tenderly 

 guarding his sitting mate, espied the 

 work of destruction and, ceasing his 

 song for a moment, furiously attacked the 

 freebooter, literally making 1 blue feathers 

 fly. The crestfallen jay beat a hasty re- 

 treat, screaming with terror. 



Rose-breasted Grosbeaks subsist on a 

 mixed diet of insects and vegetable sub- 

 stances. They are the natural guardians 

 of the potato fields, having a special fond- 

 ness for the Colorado potato beetle, they 

 assist very materially in the abatement of 

 this pest. And this fact is so well known 

 by appreciative farmers in some localities 

 that it has won for the Grosbeak the title 

 of Potato-bug Bird. They also destroy 

 many other noxious insects. The vege- 

 table diet consists of seeds and the buds 

 and blossoms of forest trees. The only 

 charge brought against them is that of 

 stealing green peas, but the damage done 



