202 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 



in the thickets of the woodland border. Cedarbirds were abundantly met with. King- 

 birds were common tenants of the gardens, while Bam, Chff, Wood, and Bank Swallows 

 were seen in large numbers over the lake. Redwings were breeding in the reeds of the 

 west end of the lake and Bobolinks near by in the low meadows. But no bird attracted 

 more attention and none aroused my enthusiasm more than the exquisite Rose-breasted 

 Grosbeak, of which I often heard three and four at the same time singing in the tree 

 tops near the lake and in close proximity to the dwellings. 



How the exquisite song of the beautiful bird filled my soul w^ith rapture! And 

 how many pleasant recollections of my boyhood did these notes recall to my mind! 

 Only a few miles east of Elkhart Lake I spent my earliest youth, and there, on our small 

 lake, especially near the spring on the south side, whither I was particularly fond to 

 lead my steps during the spring and summer months, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak was 

 a regular summer resident. The forest growth did not differ from that near Elkhart 

 Lake, except that the white pines were more common and the white and red cedars 

 entirely absent. Sweet and white birches were especially numerous. In these woodlands 

 the songs of the Veery, the Purple Finch and Towhee were frequently heard, especially 

 in the early morning hours and at sunset. The brilliant red plumage of the Scarlet 

 Tanager gleamed among the deep foliage of the pines. But what most attracted me to 

 this idyllic place was a wonderfiil and beautiful bird with a deep black head and blackish 

 upper parts, a white rump and underside and a beautiful rosy-red breast. Its unique 

 and loud song floated down from the tops of the white pines and birches; mounted 

 almost on tiptoe, raising its wings, the underside of which showed a beautifiil rosy-red 

 color, and moving its body to and fro as if seemingly in an "ecstasy of enthusiasm and 

 delight at the unrivalled harmony of its own voice." It could be heard sometimes 

 almost for an hour in succession. In those early days I did not know its name. The 

 boys called it "Red-breast," and by this appellation it was also known to the settlers. 

 Its exquisite song as well as its brilliant color characterized the bird at once, and it could 

 not be confounded with any other of the woodland minstrels. Much later, when I had 

 an opportunity of reading Audubon's unrivalled description, I remembered my old 

 favorite and learned its correct name. How I loved this song, a song entirely its own, 

 enchantingly beautiftil, mellow and sweet, rich and powerful, exceedingly touching and 

 filling the soul with rapture and enthusiasm ! Even the indifferent cannot help to listen 

 to this strain with admiration. I felt, even when a boy, the power of this song, felt 

 that this was an exceptionally wonderful bird and a glorious songster. And in my 

 later years I have rarely heard a song more richly varied, more touching, more appealing 

 to the heart, more striking than that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I fully agree with 

 Nuttall when he describes these notes as "wholly w^arbled, now loud and clear, now 

 with a querulous and now with a sprightly air, and finally lower and more pathetic." 



One must listen to the melody of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak in the beauty of the 

 June woods in order to understand and appreciate its unrivalled harmony and sweetness. 

 Most enchanting, this song sounds in the bright moon-light nights when all Natiire is 

 silent and only the nocturnal notes of the Whippoorwill re-echo through the forest. 

 These notes are delivered so gently and so full of melancholy and yet so lovely that I 

 cannot find words to describe the impression they make on the mind of the hearer. 



