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THE HAWFINCH, OR GROSBEAK. 
Many of these splendid birds are now brought to Europe as inhabitants of the aviary, and 
are found to be hardy birds, able to withstand the inclemency even of the English climate. It 
is a remarkable fact, that in confinement the Cardinal Grosbeak is very apt to change its color, 
the bright scarlet and vermilion fading to a dull whitish red ; probably the effect of insufficient 
or improper food. When carefully tended, it is a really healthy and long-lived bird, having 
been known to survive for a space of twenty years in a cage. 
The nest of the Cardinal Grosbeak is generally placed in a holly, cedar, laurel, or other 
thick evergreen, and is made of slender sticks, weeds, strips of bark, and fine grass-stems. 
The eggs are generally five in number, and their color is dull gray- white, covered with numer- 
ous blotches of brownish olive. There are generally two broods in the season. 
The Cardinal Grosbeak is the most familiar example of a group of birds whose plumage 
is quite suggestive of the tropics. It is called in the Southern States Red-bird, and as such 
is in great request as a singing bird. The male is very rich in color, much of the plumage 
being in singular contrast to that of most of our North American birds. “To the name, 
Virginian Nightingale,” says Dr. Latham, “they are well entitled, for the clearness and 
variety of their notes, which, both in a wild and domestic state, are very various and musi- 
cal. Many of them resemble the high notes of a fife and are nearly as loud. In the Northern 
States they are migratory, but in the lower parts of Pennsylvania they are resident the 
whole year.” 
In confinement these birds are known to have lived twenty-one years. A specimen is in 
the old Peale’s Museum, in Philadelphia ; such a fact is recorded with the stuffed specimen. 
One peculiarity is that the female often sings as well as the male. 
A variety of this bird is called Saint Lucas Cardinal. There is also another species named 
Texan Cardinal. 
The Rose-bbeasted Gbosbeak {Zamelodia ludomciana ) is one of the most beautiful of 
American birds. It is seen in New England during the summer and fall. The male has most 
beautiful markings of pink and white upon his breast ; and being of considerable size, as com- 
pared with most of our songsters, is notably handsome and conspicuous. 
The Black-headed Gbosbeak is another species of about the same size, and though 
very handsome in coloration, is much less brilliant than the preceding. The Blue Grosbeak is 
smaller, and is of a rich purplish blue. It inhabits the Southern States. 
The Pike Gbosbeak (. Pinicola enucleator ) is a large, stout bird, of plain olive and red 
plumage, and is one of the most attractive birds that visit the colder regions of America. 
They breed about Hudson’s Bay, and visit New England during the more severe winters. 
Its notes are regarded as sweet and mellow. 
Another species is the Evening Gbosbeak, inhabiting the Southern States. 
Eubope possesses a good example of this group in the well-known Hawfinch, or Geos- 
BEAK. 
This bird was once thought to be exceedingly scarce, but is now known to be anything 
but uncommon, although it is rarely seen, owing to its very shy and retiring habits, which 
lead it to eschew the vicinity of man and to bury itself in the recesses of forests. So 
extremely wary is the Hawfinch that to approach within gunshot is a very difficult matter, 
and can seldom be accomplished without the assistance of a decoy-bird, or by imitating the 
call-note, which bears some resemblance to that of a robin. It feeds chiefly on the various 
wild berries, not rejecting even the hard stones of plums and the laurel berries. In the spring, 
it is apt to make inroads in the early dawn upon the cultivated grounds, and has an especial 
liking for peas, among which it often works dire havoc. 
It is a gregarious bird, associating in flocks varying in number from ten to two hundred, 
and always being greatest after the breeding season. According to Mr. Doubleday, it is not 
migratory. Forests with berries of various kinds are its chief strongholds. When in the 
