THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 211 



The flight of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is strong, even, and as graceful 

 as it is sustained. When travelling southward, at the approach of autumn, 

 or about the 1st of September, it passes high over the forest trees, in the 

 manner of the King-bird and the Robin, alighting toward sunset on a tall 

 tree, from which it in a few minutes dives into some close thicket, where it 

 remains during the night. The birds travel singly at this season, as well as 

 during spring. 



I am indebted to my friend John Bachman, for the following information 

 respecting this interesting Grosbeak: "One spring, I shot at a beautiful male 

 bird of this species, in the State of New York. It was wounded in one foot 

 only, and although I could not perceive any other injury afterwards, it fell 

 from the tree to the ground, and before it recovered itself I secured it. Not 

 having a cage at hand, I let it fly in the room which I had made my study. 

 Before an hour had elapsed, it appeared as if disposed to eat; it refused corn 

 and wheat, but fed heartily on bread dipped in milk. The next day it was 

 nearly quite gentle, and began to examine the foot injured by the shot, which 

 was much swollen and quite black. It began to bite off its foot at the 

 wounded part, and soon succeeded in cutting it quite across. It healed in a 

 few days, and the bird used the mutilated leg almost as well as the other, 

 perching and resting upon it. It required indeed some care to observe that 

 the patient had been injured. I procured a cage for it, to which it imme- 

 diately became reconciled. It ate all kinds of food, but preferred Indian 

 corn meal and hempseed. It appeared fonder of insects than birds of that 

 genus are supposed to be, and ate grasshoppers and crickets with peculiar 

 relish. It would at times sit for hours watching the flies, as these passed 

 about it, and snatched at and often secured such wasps as now and then 

 approached the pieces of fruit thrown into the cage. Very often, of fine 

 moonshiny nights, it would tune its pipe, and sing sweetly, but not loudly, 

 remaining quietly perched and in the same position. Whilst singing during 

 the day, it was in the habit of opening its wings, and gently raising them, 

 somewhat in the manner of the Mocking-bird. I found it very difficult to 

 preserve this bird during winter, and was obliged for that purpose to place 

 it in a room heated by a stove to summer temperature. It was a lively and 

 very gentle companion of my study for nearly three years; it died of cold 

 the third winter. It frequently escaped from the cage, but never exhibited 

 the least desire to leave me, for it invariably returned to some portion of the 

 house at the approach of night. Its song continued about six weeks during 

 summer, and about two in the autumn; at all other periods it simply uttered 

 a faint chuck, and seemed to possess many of the ordinary habits of the Blue 

 Grosbeak." 



The food of this beautiful bird consists of seeds of the cereal plants, of 



