others wind in rapid motions through the brush wood, thickets, and the branches of 

 trees, catching birds and plundering nests. 



In these localities, particularly near the bushy edge of the woodlands, no other 

 bird appears so numerously nor sings so loudly and attracts more attention than the 

 Cardinal Redhird. In brambles, among the hazel and holly bushes, in hedge-rows and 

 in the thickets bordering brooks and swamps, this splendid bird is at home, fluttering, 

 flying, and singing everywhere, enlivening its haunts in the most attractive way. In all 

 the larger southern gardens, replete with masses of evergreen ornamental shrubs and 

 climbers, the Cardinal is a common tenant. I can here only mention a few of the 

 favorite garden shrubs in which the Redbird likes to take up its abode. Evergreen roses, 

 such as the Cherokee, the Banksia and Macartney roses are frequently chosen as nesting 

 sites and also such deciduous climbing roses, as the Marechal Niel, Lamarque, Chroma- 

 tella, etc. Dense coniferous shrubs and trees, especially retinisporas, cedars, cypresses, 

 cunninghamias, etc., intermingled with Cape jasmine, holly-leaved and sweet olives*, 

 banana shrubs^, Japanese euonymus, privets, cleyeras', fragrant viburnums*, form 

 excellent haunts for this beautiful bird. Being very cautious, the Cardinal breeds only 

 in such gardens where it is protected and where it feels safe, and in such cases the nest 

 is often found in close proximity of the house. In most cases, however, it settles in an 

 out-of-the-way comer, densely planted with evergreens. In the northern part of its 

 habitat it is a wild and shy bird and usually avoids the vicinity of human habitations, 

 choosing for its home remote thickets and half-wild pastures and woodlands. 



The region inhabited by the Cardinal extends over all the Southern States, chiefly 

 south of the 40° of latitude, being occasionally found as far north as Massachusetts. 

 It is a rare bird iti northern Missouri and not abundant in southern Illinois, Indiana, 

 and Ohio. In south-western Missouri, although a well-known songster, it is not very 

 numerous. Old settlers, however, told me, that thirty years ago it was much commoner 

 than it is now, just as in the case of the Mockingbird, which is now a rare songster in 

 that locality, owing to the fact that every nest is plundered for its young. During my 

 five years' residence in the south-west comer of Missouri, the Cardinals were trapped 

 each winter in large numbers, and sent to northern bird dealers. Sometimes, when 

 brought in warm rooms, the sudden change of the temperature diminished their numbers 

 rapidly. In all parts of Texas, visited by me, the Cardinal was an abundant bird, and 

 in the fertile lands of southern Louisiana it formed a conspicuous part of the landscape. 

 The undergrowth on the edges of cypress swamps, the wax-myrtle thickets, the orange 

 groves, the hollies fairly swarmed with them. All over the South I found them most 

 common in the very beautiful dense hedges of Cherokee roses, which sometimes line the 

 road-sides for miles. These roses are most beautiful plants, the large fragrant white 

 flowers are relieved by elegant glossy evergreen leaves. They grow exceedingly dense, 

 and the stems and branches are provided with formidable spines. These hedges are a 

 safe retreat for many birds, especially for different Sparrows and other small birds in 

 winter, and for Mockingbirds, Blue Grosbeaks, Painted Buntings, Chats, Thrashers, 

 White-eyed Vireos, and particularly for Cardinals in summer. Redbirds outnumber all 



1 Osmanthus acgulfolium, O. fragrans. 2 Mlchelia faseata, • Clejrera Japonlca, < Vil)urnum oaoratissiwum onil 

 V. Aivafaki. 



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