No. 20.] THE BIRDS OF CONNECTICUT. 135 



Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus). Cardinal. 



Connecticut records. Merriam^ records that a specimen was 

 found in 1874 in New Haven by Mr. Thomas Bostwick and was 

 identified as a wild bird by Grinnell; May, 1885, Trumbull, a pair 

 seen (Beers) ; a male in the collection of M. B. Tobey of Canaan 

 may have been taken here, but is open to great doubt, since the 

 collection contains a number of birds from the South and the 

 West, and is not labelled; late in May, about 1900, Winchester, 

 a male with full crest seen (Williams).^ 



Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linnaeus). Rose-breasted Gros- 

 beak. 



A common summer resident from May until July. 



Earliest record. New Haven, May 5, 1897, 1906, April 30, 

 1906 (A. A. S.) ; Portland, May i, 1890, 1891, 1896, 1906, 1907. 

 Average of 32 years' records, May 7 (J. H. S.). 



Latest record. New Haven, Sept. 24, 1906, Sept. 28, 1892 

 (H. W. F.) ; Portland, Sept. 28, 1892. 



Winter records. Nov. 25, 1874, New Haven (Merriam) f 

 Nov. 15, 1904, Bridgeport, an adult male found dead, apparently 

 killed by a recent storm (Beers). This was a peculiarly interest- 

 ing specimen, in that the recently assumed winter plumage dif- 

 fered from that of the spring only in having a few brown tips to 

 the feathers of head, back, throat, breast, and flanks, these tips 

 hiding the black only on the back, and in having a conspicuous 

 white malar stripe. 



Nest. In the top of a slender tree, or bush, e. g., elder, willow, 

 elm, in a thicket in swampy woods ; 5-15 feet from the ground, 

 occasionally higher. 



Eggs. 3-5 ; early in June. 



Nesting dates. Earliest record. May 19, 1891, four eggs 

 (J. C. A. M.). Latest record. June 18, 1888, three eggs (E. 

 H. E.) ; June 18, 1900, three eggs (L. B. B.). 



Males hatched the previous year have occasionally in the 

 spring many of the feathers of the throat and upper parts tipped 

 with brown, and the rose-red of the breast prolonged almost to 



1 Merriam, Birds of Conn., p. 44. 

 'Job, The Sport of Bird Study, p. 305. 

 3 Merriam, Birds of Conn., p. 43. 



