180 
The Black-headed Grosbeak 
perch and to call for food. I never heard a more enticing dinner-song. 
The minute a youngster's appetite was satisfied, he always took a nap. 
There was no worry on his mind as to where the next bite was coming 
from. He just contracted into a fluffy ball, and didn't pause a second 
on the borderland. It was so simple. His lids closed and it was done. 
He slept soundly, too, for when I stroked the feathers of one he didn’t 
awake. Yet at the sound of the parent’s wings he awoke as suddenly 
as he had dropped asleep. 
I have watched a good many bird-families but I never saw the work 
divided as it seemed to be in this household. The first day I stayed about 
the nest I noticed that the father was feeding the children almost en- 
tirely, and whenever he brought a mouthful he hardly knew which one 
to feed first. The mother brought food once an hour, Parents 
while he fed the nestlings every ten or fifteen minutes. Share 
This seemed contrary to my understanding of bird- Labor 
ways, where, as a rule, the male is wilder than his wife, and she has to 
take the responsibility of the home. To my surprise, the third day I 
found the father was the busy bird. The fourth day the mother seemed 
to have charge of the feeding again, but she spent most of her time trying 
to coax the bantlings to follow her into the bushes. 
Many times, in the case of other birds, I have seen both parents work 
side by side in rearing a family ; but these Grosbeaks seemed to have a 
way of dividing duties equally, and alternating days of rest with days of 
labor. 
Classification and Distribution 
The Black-headed Grosbeak belongs to the Order ( Passeres, the Family 
Fringillidce, and the Genus Zamelodia. Its scientific name is Zamelodia melanO- 
cephala. Its summer range is in the mountainous region between the Great Plains 
and the Pacific Coast, as far north as southern British Columbia ; and it winters 
in Mexico. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of ' 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
