THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK. 
89 
are similar to those of the former, its food and the 
manner of collecting it being the same. 
We will now conclude our observations among the 
Finches by noticing three more birds, which, for 
brilliancy of coloring, are perhaps unsurpassed by 
any of our feathered friends, unless it be the Non- 
pareil. 
The first is the Cardinal Grosbeak, that gay, active, 
and showy bird, which we sometimes see during a 
snow-storm, in company with the Snow Birds, flitting 
about among the trees and bushes, uttering its sharp 
chirp, and' seeming to enjoy rather than lament the 
rigors of the season. The plumage of this bird, un- 
der whatever circumstances it is viewed, must ever 
• render it an attractive object. Whether seen through 
the deep foliage of Summer, busily engaged with its 
domestic concerns, or whether in a more inclement 
season it rambles with freedom over the snow-clad 
fields and through the leafless woods, its imposing 
form, the lengthened crest by which its head is sur- 
mounted, and its livery of fiery red, cannot fail to 
arrest the eye. In richness of plumage and strength 
of song, it is probably not surpassed by any of the 
other American Grosbeaks. There are various names 
by which it is known in the different sections of coun- 
try it inhabits, such as Bed Bird, Virginia Nightin- 
gale, Cardinal Bird, etc. It is seldom seen to the 
eastward, or north of the southern boundary of New 
York. Southward from Maryland as far as Texas, 
it appears to be a constant resident; some individuals 
remaining during winter in the warmer parts of Penn- 
8 * 
