THE PINE-GROSBEAK. 



Pyrrhula enucleator (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 17. 



The Pine-Grosbeak is an irregular and very uncommon visitor to Great Britain 

 from the forests of pine and spruce in Scandinavia, northern Russia, and Siberia, 

 where in summer it nests and rears its young, moving as winter approaches to more 

 temperate regions. 



The nest is generally placed on the branch of a fir, close to the trunk, and is 

 constructed much in the same manner as the Bullfinch's, of intertwisted twigs, with 

 the interior lining of roots or grasses and lichen. The eggs, usually four in 

 number, are greenish-blue in ground colour, marked with brownish-purple or dark 

 brown. 



The food of the Pine-Grosbeak consists of the seeds of the pine and fir, berries 

 and buds of various trees, and also of insects. 



Seebohm, who studied the bird in its native haunts, describes its song {British 

 Birds, vol. ii. p. 43) as "very melodious, not very loud or long, but flute-like," 

 and the call-note as " a plaintive single note." 



Although apparently shy and retiring in its disposition, the Pine-Grosbeak is 

 said to be easily approached, and its character is tame and unsuspicious. 



The female differs from the male in having none of the carmine-red in her 

 plumage, the edges of these feathers being of a golden yellow, and the back of the 

 bird a slaty-grey. 



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