Birds of Iniiana. 913 



1887; also four males from the same locality, April 18, 1887, and a 

 male and a female, dated May 10,. 1887. 



Mr. G. G. Williamson noted the following specimens at Blooming- 

 ton, in April, 1887; April 27, one; 29, two; 30, two. Mr. C. A. Stock- 

 bridge, of Ft. Wayne, has a specini n taken from a flock of eight or 

 nine near that city, about May 6, 1 S ! 1. Mr. R. Turtle, a taxidermist 6f 

 Chicago, showed me a number oJ diese birds, of which he said lie 

 HUed ten. May 8, 1887, at Berry Luke, Ind., and thirteen May 10, at 

 Whiting. Mr. Turtle obtained a large number of specimens the pre- 

 ceding winter from Whiting. The latest record I hare of its occur- 

 rence in spring is May 13, 1887, when it was found in Lake County. 



.The winter of 1888-9, although they were observed in Michigan and 

 Illinois, none were reported from Indiana. The year 1889-90, they 

 appeared at Madison, and other places in Wisconsin, by November 30, 

 1889. They reached Ohio and Pennsylvania in December, and in Jan- 

 uary, February and March were found reaching almost to the Atlantic 

 Coast. Dr. Warren says they remained in some parts of Pennsylvania 

 until May 15, 1890 (Birds of Penn., Eev. Ed., 1890, p. 225). In In- 

 diana this movement was not so noticeable. Mr. H. N. McCoy ob- 

 tained a specimen from a flock of twenty or thirty near Lafayette, Feb- 

 ruary 1, 1890. Mr. L. T. Meyer reported them from Whiting, Lake 

 County, in January and February. Dr. A. W. Brayton identified a 

 specimen taken near Indianapolis that winter. Mr. C. A. Stockbridge 

 saw them at Ft. Wayne, .February 15 and 16, 1890. After the last 

 date they became common, and he took one as late as April 13 of that 

 year. Messrs. Ulrey and Wallace say there are two pairs in the 

 collection of Mr. M. L. Galbraith, CoUamer, Indiana. They were 

 taken in Whitley County. Mrs. Jane L. Hine informs me a gentleman 

 in Steuben County has an Evening Grosbeak that was taken in the 

 southern part of that county. 



Their food is principally elm buds, maple buds and seeds, and espe- 

 cially the buds, more rarely the seeds, of the box-elder (Negundo 

 acer aides). This last is most commonly eaten in early winter, the 

 others all through their stay with us. They resemble clumsy Cross- 

 bills when extracting the seeds of this tree. They also eat fruit of the 

 climbing bitter-sweet. They are loth to leave a woods heavy with 

 maple "mast." Early in May they have been known to turn their at- 

 tention to the pine trees. One instance is recorded of their eating 

 frozen crab-apples, that remained on the trees until mid-winter. In 

 addition to evergreens, maple, beech and elm woods, they frequent 

 orchards, where apple seeds are favorite food. They gather food from 



58 — Qeol 



