248 



CARDINAL GROSBEAK. 

 (Loxia Cardinalis.) 



L. cristata rubra, capistro nigro, rostro pedibusque sanguineis.. 

 Red-crested Grosbeak with the capistrum black, beak and feet 



red. 

 Loxia Cardinalis. Lin. Syst. Nat. 1. 300. 5. — Amcen. Acad. 



4. 242. — Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1. 847.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. 375. 14. 

 Coccothraustes virginiana. Briss. 3. 255. 17. 

 Gros-bec de Virginie. Buff. Hist. Nat. Ois. 3. 458. 28.— Buff. 



PI. Enl. 37. 

 Red Grosbeak. Albin. 1. 57. male. 3. 6l. female. 

 Cardinal Grosbeak. Pen. Arct. Zool. 210. — Lath. Gen. Syn. 



3. 118. 13. — Lath. Syn. Sup. 150. 



Length eight inches : beak pale red, and stout : 

 irides hazel : head crested : round the beak and 

 on the throat black : rest of the plumage fine red ; 

 but not so bright on the quills and tail : legs pale 

 red : female almost entirely of a reddish brown. 



This species is very tame, and has a very fine 

 song, much resembling that of the nightingale ; 

 during the spring and summer it sits on the tops 

 of the highest trees, singing very loud : it is often 

 kept in cages, and generally sings throughout the 

 year. It is fond of maize and buckwheat, and is 

 said to collect great quantities together, which it 

 covers with leaves and twigs, leaving only a small 

 hole for an entrance ; it is also stated to be fond 

 of bees. It is met with in several parts of North 

 America, appearing in New York, and the Jerseys, 

 about the beginning of April, frequenting the 



