Nests in Trees, Bushes, or Vines 



The female cardinal, though more subdued in colouring, is 

 by no means inferior to her mate in her powers of singing ; her 

 song is rather softer, but not less beautiful. The breeding sea- 

 son begins about the third week in April. 



593d. Florida Cardinal: C. c. floridanus Ridgw. 



A geographical race of the common cardinal, rather smaller 

 and not so intensely coloured. The nesting habits and eggs are 

 identical with those of the more northern bird. 



Breeding Range — Florida. 



This is a very common bird in most parts of Florida, frequent- 

 ing the vicinity of houses, clearings, or hummocks ; they are ex- 

 ceedingly tame, and lend a cheerful bit of colour and song to the 

 somewhat monotonous scenery of most parts of Florida. 



595. Rose-breasted Grosbeak : Habia ludoviciana (Linn.) 



Adult 3 — Head, throat, and back black ; breast carmine ; under 

 wing coverts rose colour ; belly white ; wings black, with 

 white markings ; tail black tipped with white ; the beak, as 

 the bird's name implies, is very thick and strong. Length — 

 8.15. 



Adult $ — Head, back, and breast warm gray or buff, with brown 

 markings ; the head has a buff line on the crown, with a dark 

 line on either side, and a conspicuous white line over the 

 eye ; wings and tail grayish brown ; the under wing coverts 

 are bright golden yellow. 



Immature $ and ? — Resemble each other, the colour being much 

 the same as that of the adult ? , but rather lighter, the only 

 marked difference being in the under wing coverts, which 

 in the ? are bright yellow, and in the i rose colour. When 

 about three months old the 3 shows a decidedly warm buff 

 colour on the breast, with undefined wine-coloured mark- 

 ings ; the back becomes darker and also warmer in tone. 



The $ has the line over the eye nearly white; the throat 

 very pale gray, with dark brownish gray markings, and is in 

 general appearance much colder in tone than the $ . 



$ , eighteen months old — The head and back black, mot- 

 tled with buff ; line over eye light buff ; throat and upper 

 part of breast buff, with reddish suffusions and fine black 

 marks ; breast rather dull carmine, with a few dark spots 

 and a tinge of buff ; sides light buff, streaked slightly with 



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