THE SCARLET TAN ACER. 
339 
forest, the bird generally perches upon the extreme top of some lofty tree, from whence it 
keeps so complete a watch that hardly a weasel could steal upon it without being perceived 
and its presence reported by an alarm note, which is perfectly understood not only by other 
Grosbeaks, but by all the feathered and some of the furred tribes. 
The nest of the Hawfinch is not remarkable either for elegance or peculiarity of form. It 
is very simply built of slender twigs, bits of dried creepers, gray lichens, roots and hair, and 
is so carelessly put together that it can hardly be moved entire. The eggs are from four to six 
in number, and their color is very pale olive-green, streaked with gray and spotted with black 
dots. The birds pair in the middle of April, begin to build their nests about the end of that 
month, and the young are hatched about the third week in May. 
The color of the adult male Grosbeak is briefly as follows : The head and nape of the 
neck are fawn color, deepening towards the shoulders and fading into gray on the other por- 
tions of the neck, and the chin and throat are velvety black. The upper part of the body 
is chestnut-brown, and the wing-coverts are variegated with white, black, and fawn. The 
primary feathers of the wing are deep blue-black, white on the inner webs. The upper tail- 
coverts are fawn, and the tail itself is black and white, with the exception of the two central 
feathers, which are grayish-brown, tipped with white. The sides of the neck, the breast, 
abdomen, and whole of the under parts are brown of a lighter and paler hue than that of the 
back, and the under tail-coverts are white. The female is similarly colored, but the hues are 
much duller than in her mate. The total length of the bird is seven inches. 
On examining the wings of this bird, the observer will be struck with the curious shape of 
the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth primary feathers, which are not pointed, but 
are larger at the ends, rounded and hooked in a manner which is well compared by Yarrell to 
the head of an ancient battle-axe. Perhaps the Jedburgh axe is more like the shape of these 
curious feathers. 
Although not possessed of the glowing scarlet hue which decorates the cardinal Gros- 
beak, the Black ahd Yellow Grosbeak is quite as remarkable and scarcely a less handsome 
bird. 
Its ordinary habitation is in the northern parts of India, but it is a bird of strong wing, 
and often wanders as far as Central India in search of food. Like others of the same group, 
it mostly feeds on berries and various stone-fruits, crushing even the hard-shelled seeds and 
stones in its thick and powerful beak. Even at a distance, this bird is very conspicuous on 
account of the bold and dashing manner in which the whole of the plumage is variegated with 
black, white, and yellow, all these colors being of the purest and brightest quality. 
The whole of the upper surface and the breast are deep jetty black, with a slight silken 
gloss when the bird is in good condition. A few snowy- white spots appear on the basal por- 
tions of the four central primary feathers of the wing, and several of the primaries, together 
with the whole of the secondaries, are edged with the same hue, thus presenting a very strong 
contrast to the jetty feathers of the back. The lower part of the breast and the abdomen are 
bright golden yellow, so that the bird is colored only with these three decided hues, without 
any gradation through intermediate hues, as is generally the case in birds of bright plumage. 
The female is easily distinguished from her mate, as the upper surface is dusky black, largely 
mottled with yellow upon the head, neck, and back. The breast and abdomen are grayish 
yellow, profusely covered with black spots resembling the “ tears ” in heraldry. The quality 
of the hue is rather variable, as in some specimens the black is of the deepest, and the yellow 
of the richest, glossiest gold, whereas in some individuals — probably the young male just 
entering his perfect plumage, or the old male getting feeble with age — the black has a dirty 
look, and the yellow is nearly white. In size this bird is about equal to the cardinal Grosbeak. 
The Tanagrine birds are well represented by the Scarlet Tanager of America. 
It is a very handsome bird, decorated with lively scarlet and deep black, and is possessed 
of a tolerable, though not especially musical voice. This is one of the migratory species, 
arriving in the northern portions of the United States about the end of April, and remaining 
