63 



Cardinalis virginianus. — In the early part of November a finely 

 plumaged male cardinal made unexpectedly its appearance on the 

 premises of Mr. David F. Day, of Buffalo. The house of that gen- 

 tleman is situated in the very heart of the city; and as it is sur- 

 rounded by an unusually fine garden, the strange guest would 

 naturally be tempted to prefer this locality. The call of a captive 

 pet cardinal, the notes of which, whenever the cage was placed near 

 the open window, could be heard for a long distance, may also have 

 been one of the principal reasons for the presence of the novel guest. 

 After making regularly its appearance with early daylight, the bird 

 disappeared mysteriously after a few days, but turned up again 

 towards the latter end of November, when it remained constantly 

 during the severe cold which characterized here the last part of that 

 month and early December. The advent of milder weather wit- 

 nessed again the disappearance of the Cardinal, which was at last 

 looked for as a matter of course by every member of the household; 

 but to the great delight of all concerned, the bird, after spending a 

 short vacation in parts unknown, revisited the place on December 

 26th for the last time, as it was fortunately captured, after many in- 

 effectual attempts to accomplish this result. It became very quickly 

 tamed, and may have been, after all, only an escaped pet bird, 

 although its fine plumage, approaching in color rather the vermillion 

 than the cinnabar, does not agree with this view. Its legs are also 

 darker than those of old cage birds, and its short toe-nails indicate 

 immature age. 



The Cardinal is not known to breed in the neighborhood of 

 Buffalo, where it has only been observed as a rare visitor towards 

 the latter end of May. There appears to be, however, no reason 

 why it should not become acclimated here, since it occurs as a resi- 

 dent breeder already near Toledo, which is hardly a hundred miles 

 due south of Buffalo. 



Charles Linden. 



