Conspicuously Black and White 



the tallest stalks that the wind in the open meadows uncovers, 

 the snowflakes suggest a lot of dead leaves being blown through 

 the all-pervading whiteness. Beautiful soft brown, gray, and 

 predominating black-and-white coloring distinguish these capri- 

 cious visitors from the slaty junco, the "snowbird" more com- 

 monly known. They are, indeed, the only birds we have that 

 are nearly white ; and rarely, if ever, do they rise far above the 

 ground their plumage so admirably imitates. 



At the far north, travellers have mentioned their inspiriting 

 song, but in the United States we hear only their cheerful twitter. 

 Nansen tells of seeing an occasional snow bunting in that desola- 

 tion of arctic ice where the Fram drifted so long. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak 



(Habia ludoviciana) Finch family 



Length — 7.75 to 8. 5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin. 



Male — Head and upper parts black. Breast has rose-carmine 

 shield-shaped patch, often extending downward to the centre 

 of the abdomen. Underneath, tail quills, and two spots on 

 wings white. Conspicuous yellow, blunt beak. 



Female — Brownish, with dark streakings, like a sparrow. No 

 rose-color. Light sulphur yellow under wings. Dark brown, 

 heavy beak. 



Range — Eastern North America, from southern Canada to Panama. 



Migrations — Early May. September. Summer resident. 



A certain ornithologist tells with complacent pride of having 

 shot over fifty-eight rose-breasted grosbeaks in less than three 

 weeks (during the breeding season) to learn what kind of food 

 they had in their crops. This kind of devotion to science may 

 have quite as much to do with the growing scarcity of this bird 

 in some localities as the demands of the milliners, who, however, 

 receive all of the blame for the slaughter of our beautiful songsters. 

 The farmers in Pennsylvania, who, with more truth than poetry, 

 call this the potato-bug bird, are taking active measures, how- 

 ever, to protect the neighbor that is more useful to their crop than 

 all the insecticides known. It also eats flies, wasps, and grubs. 



Seen upon the ground, the dark bird is scarcely attractive with 

 his clumsy beak overbalancing a head that protrudes with stupid- 



60 



