NORTH AMERICA. 



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Hampshire to Carolina. The robin is one of our earhest songsters. His notes in spring are 



everywhere known and everywhere beloved. They 

 are, as it were, the prelude to the grand general con- 

 cert that is about to burst upon us from woods, thick- 

 ets, and fields, whitened with blossoms, and breathing 

 fragrance. He possesses much suavity of manners, 

 and almost always seeks shelter for his young in sum- 

 mer, and subsistence for himself, near the habitations 

 of man. He builds a large nest on an apple tree, 

 plasters it with mud, and lines it with fine grass. His 

 principal food is worms, berries, and caterpillars. 



The Cat Bird ( T. felivox) is generally known but 

 not generally admired. His manners are very odd and 

 extremely familiar, and his notes are more remarkable 

 The Robin. for singularity than melody. In spring or autumn, on 



approaching tliickets of brambles, the first salutation 

 you receive is from the cat bird ; a stranger, unacquainted with his note, would instantly con- 

 clude that some vagrant orphan kitten had got bewildered among the briers, and wanted assist- 

 ance, so exactly does the call of the bird resemble the cry of that animal. He is one of our 

 earliest songsters, beginning generally before break of day, and hovering from bush to bush with 

 great sprightliness, when there is scarcely light enough to distinguish him. On listening to his 

 song foi some time, you can perceive that he introduces into his performance all the odd sounds 

 and quaint passages he has been able to collect. He seldom allows you time to pass his nest, 

 either in the woods or in the garden, without paying his respects to you in the usual way. His 

 nest is composed of dry leaves, twigs, and fine dry grass, lined with fibrous roots. 



The Blue Bird (Ampelis Sialis) usually spends the winter in Virginia and the Carolinas, 



Blue Bird. 



Cardinal Grosbeak. 



but is one of the first to depart for New England and Canada, at the approach of spring. He 

 is everywhere a favorite. 



The Cardinal Grosbeak [Fringilla cardinalis) is well known, and is one of our most 

 common cage birds. His sprightly figure and gaudy plumage, his vivacity, strength of voice, 

 and the little expense with which lie is kept, will always make him a favorite. He has great 

 clearness and variety of tones ; many of them resemble the clear notes of a fife, and are nearly 

 as loud. Numbers of these birds have been taken to France and England, where they are 

 called Virginia Nightingales. They feed chiefly on corn, seeds of apples, cherries, and other 

 fruit ; they are also accused of eating bees. They are numerous in all parts of North America. 



The Wkite-wingcd Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) is a beautiful bird, inhabiting only the 

 northern regions of the A.merican continent. It breeds in the country round Hudson's Bay, 



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