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BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
Like sparrows in general, Chewinks eat seeds, chiefly, though in sum- 
mer when they are scarce and insects abundant, grasshoppers, beetles 
and other insects are eaten to a considerable extent. A single stomach 
from a young male taken August lo contained principally blueberries, 
but there were also remains of a grasshopper, a beetle, and some kind 
of bee or wasp. 
Habia ludoviciana. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 595. 
This worthy bird has a triple claim on the goodwill of mankind. 
It is handsom.e ; it is a melodious singer; and it eats potato 
"bugs." Therefore, from both practical and aesthetic standpoints 
it deserves every kindness. Unfortunately its distribution is some- 
what local, and it is nowhere abundant in our state. I have found no 
evidence of its breeding here in Durham, and have only seen an 
occasional male in May, though of course a pair are likely to locate in 
this vicinity any summer. I have found them rather common at 
Exeter, in the village elms and adjacent orchards. May 14 is the 
earliest date on which I have noted it, and I have yet to see one after the 
first of September, though they may remain later than that for aught 
I know. 
Cyanospiza cyanea. Indigo Bunting. 598. 
Indigo Birds appear quite regularly within a day or two of the mid- 
dle of May, and throughout the summer are fairly common in suitable 
localities. The southward movement takes place about the middle of 
September, and I have not seen any after the twenty-sixth of that 
month. They feed on insects and seeds in proportion, varying with 
the time of year. One August stomach which I have opened con- 
tained remains of one beetle and many seeds. After the corn has 
become " tasseled" it affords a favorite refuge for Indigo Birds, and 
in August and September they are oftener found in cornfields than 
anywhere else. The sexes differ widely in habit; males sing in con- 
spicuous places and never attempt to secrete themselves, while their 
sober-colored mates are always skulking about in the bushes. They 
build their nests in bushes not far from the ground. Mr. Shaw of 
Hampton states that he once saw a set of Indigo Bunting's eggs which 
were speckled, but that wms an exceptional case, as they are ordinarily 
unmarked. Tlie Indigo Bird enjoys hot weather. He does not sing 
early in the morning as most birds do, but waits till the sun is high, 
when, from the top of a tree where the full heat of noon beats down 
upon him, he repeats at short intervals his drowsy song. 
