BIRDS OF NEW YORK 255 



Pinicola enucleator leucura (Miiller) 

 Pine Grosbeak 



Plate 76 



Loxia leucura Miiller. Natursyst. Suppl. 1776. 150 



Corythus enucleator DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 181, fig. 142 



Pinicola enucleator leucura A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. 



p. 241. No. 51S 



-pinicola, Lat., pine-inhabitor ; enucleator, Lat., a sheller-out; leucura, from Gr., light 

 tailed or white tailed 



Description. Nearly the size of a Robin; like an overgrown Purple 

 finch in general appearance; beak very heavy; tip of the upper mandible 

 considerably curved; tail slightly forked. Adult male: Slaty gray 

 overlaid with rosy red especially on the head, breast and rump, sometimes 

 giving the bird almost a uniform rosy red appearance; wings and tail 

 fuscous slightly edged with color of the back; 2 conspicuous wing bars of 

 whitish, the inner secondaries and tertials also edged with white. Female: 

 Slaty gray overlaid, especially on the head and rump, with olive yellow or 

 saffron. Young males: Similar to female. 



Length 9-9.2; extent 13-14; wing 4.36; taU. 3.68; bill .54; tarsus .88. 



Distribution. This species inhabits the boreal region of eastern North 

 America, breeding mostly in the Hudsonian zone. In New York it is 

 only a winter visitant, slightly irregular in occurrence, its abundance 

 depending upon the crop of mountain ash berries and spruce cones in 

 the northern forests, but a few at least are found in New York State every 

 winter. The dates of arrival from the north vary from November 9 to 

 December 4. Thej^ are commonest between the middle of December and 

 the first of March, the latest dates usually from the 25th of March to the 

 5th of April; but a few are occasionally noted as late as April 20 or May 5. 

 The winters of 1844, 1896 and 1903 are especially remarkable for the 

 abundance of this bird in New York. It occurs in all parts of the State, 

 but is usually not so plentiful on Long Island as in the interior. 



Haunts and habits. The Pine grosbeak is one of the largest of its 

 family found in New York, but is of gentle, unobtrusive manner, almost 

 entirely fearless of man's approach, and always seems to be perfectly con- 



