OF -EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 259 



notes are sweet, varied, and mellow, slightly re- 

 sembling the song of C. tristris, but quite distinct 

 from it. 



Its food consists of the seeds of grasses and 

 weeds, together with "various berries. In the 

 autumn after its arrival it subsists upon the berries 

 of Jiinip&rus Virginiana, y. communis, Lonicera 

 penclymeiuim ; and, later, upon the seeds of Pimis 

 strobus, P. iitops, Abies nigra, A. canadensis, B,etiila 

 excelsa, and B. nigra. The eggs and pup3e of 

 Cratonychus cinereus, C. p^rtinax. and the eggs of 

 many of the Aphid(B and Coccidce. Early in' the 

 spring these birds subsist upon aphides, small 

 spiders, and the larvae of Anisopteryx vernatd, A. 

 pometaria, and mature forms of the sm.aller Noc- 

 tuidoe and Tincidce, and Formica sangiiineq.. The 

 buds of the maple, apple, and cherry, and the suc- 

 culent cones of various species of Plnus are 

 eagerly devoured. 



This species does not breed in our midst. 

 According to Dr. Brewer, early in May, 1859, a 

 nest was found in the garden of Prof. Benjamin 

 Peirce in Cambridge, Mass., by Frederick Ware, 

 Esq. The base of this structure was a mass of 

 loose materials, lower portions of the sides scarcely 

 different, with the upper and inner parts impactly 

 and neatiy felted together. Externally, were 

 noticed twigs of Thuja, grdSSGs, carices, fine roots; 

 fine vegetable stalks, ends of pine twigs, coarse 

 hair, and scraps of wool. Internally, there was a 

 close lining of fine roots of herbaceous plants, and 



