Many species of Grosbeak 
are found in different parts of 
the world, some being of most 
beautiful colours, while others are 
comparatively plain. The Cardi- 
nal Grosbeak of America is light 
scarlet and black, and the Black 
and Yellow Grosbeak is deco- 
rated with the colours from which 
it derives its name. 
The habits of this bird are 
like those of the generality of 
Grosbeaks. 
It is one of the Asiatic birds, 
and 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 va- 
rious 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 colours being 
of the purest and brightest qua- 
lity. 
The whole of the upper sur- 
face 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 some 
of the 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 female is easily distinguished 
from her mate, as the upper surface is dusky black, largely mottled with yellow 
upon the head, neck, and back. 
BLACK AND YELLOW GROSBEAK. 
Coccothraustes melanoccanthus. 
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