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THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK. 
The Paradise, or Broad-shafted Whidah Bird, is the species that is most familiar in 
cages and menageries, as it is by no means an nncommon bird in its native land, and bears 
confinement better than most inhabitants of a tropical land. It is an inhabitant of Western 
Africa, being fonnd thronghont the whole district from Senegal to Angola ; and as it is of a 
light and airy disposition, it gives a lively aspect to the trees among which it lives. It is per- 
petually in motion, flitting from bough to bough with graceful lightness, pecking here and 
there after a casual insect, and evidently admiring its own beautiful tail with thorough appre- 
ciation. 
The name Widow Bird is altogether an erroneous title, although it is supposed by many 
persons to have been given to the bird on account of its dark color and long train, as well as 
in consequence of its evidently disconsolate state when the beautiful tail-feathers have fallen 
off after the breeding season. Certainly a caged Whidah Bird in such a condition exhibits the 
sincerest grief for his loss, and conducts himself as if laboring under the most poignant sorrow. 
Instead of boldly skipping among the highest forks, and flirting his long tail for the admira- 
tion of every spectator, he sits humbly on the lowest perches, or even on the floor of the cage, 
backs himself into a corner, and seems thoroughly ashamed of his undress. In point of fact, 
however, the proper name is Whidah Bird, a title that was originally given to it by the Por- 
tuguese, because the first specimens that were brought to Europe came from the kingdom of 
Whidah, on the eastern coast of Africa. 
There are many species of these pretty little creatures, all being remarkable for some 
peculiarity in their form or coloring. One of them is the Shaft-taeled Wiiidaii Bird. 
This exquisite bird is found along the African coasts, and is in great favor in Europe as a 
cage bird. Its voice is superior to that of the preceding species, although none of the Whidah 
Birds are remarkable for the musical power or brilliancy of their song. It is bright and 
sprightly in all its movements, flitting about its cage with a restless activity and fearless 
demeanor that endear it to its owner. From the Paradise Whidah Bird it may be distinguished 
not only by its coloring, but by the curious arrangement of its tail-feathers, which are very 
short, with the exception of the four central feathers, which are most singularly elongated, 
each feather presenting to the eye little but the bare shaft for the greater part of its length, 
and then slightly widening towards the extremities. The sides of the head and around the 
neck are deep, rusty red, and the back of the neck and top of the head are mottled black. 
The total length of the Shaft-tailed Whidah Bird is from nine to ten inches. 
THE HAWFINCHES. 
The Grosbeaks or Hawfinches now claim our attention. They are all remarkable for their 
very large, broad, and thick beaks, a peculiarity of construction which is intended to serve 
them in their seed-crushing habits. 
The most magnificent example of this group is -the Cardinal, or Scarlet Grosbeak, 
an inhabitant of various parts of America, where it is known under the titles of Red Bird, 
Crested Red Bird, and Virginian Nightingale. 
It is rather a large bird, measuring about eight inches in total length, and is colored in a 
most gorgeous fashion. The back is dusky red, and the whole of the rest of the plumage is 
bright, vivid scarlet, with the exception of a patch of jetty black short feathers that decorate the 
chin, forehead, and base of the beak. Upon the head there is a high pointed crest, which can 
be raised or lowered at pleasure. Even the bill is bright scarlet. The female is a smaller bird, 
and is not nearly so handsome as her mate. The upper parts of the body are brown-olive, and 
the tail, tip of the crest, and the wings are scarlet. The chin and forehead are ashen-gray, 
and the breast and abdomen are drab, with a dash of red. The bill is scarlet like that of the 
male. 
The voice of the Cardinal Grosbeak is naturally fine, though the song is apt to be rather 
too monotonous, the bird repeating the same phrase twenty or thirty times before proceeding 
