CARDINAL GROSBEAK, OR RED-BIRD. 521 
lagoon, which continued, in lengthened file, to fly over 
my head at a considerable height for more than 20 min- 
utes together. The beautiful procession, illumined by 
the last rays of the setting sun, was incomparably 
splendid as the shifting shadowy light at quick intervals 
flashed upon their brilliant livery. They had been ob- 
served to pass in this manner to their roost for a 
considerable time, and, at day-break, they were seen 
again to proceed and disperse for subsistence. How 
long this timid and gregarious habit continues, I cannot 
pretend to say; but by the first week in February, the 
song of the Red Bird was almost daily heard. As the 
season advances, roving pairs, living, as it were, only 
with and for each other, flit from place to place ; and fol- 
lowing also their favorite insect or vegetable fare, many 
proceed back to the same cool region in which they were 
bred, and from which they were reluctantly driven ; 
while others, impelled by interest, caprice, and adven- 
ture, seek to establish new families in the most remote 
limits of their migration. Some of these more restless 
wanderers occasionally, though rarely, favor this part of 
New England with a visit. After listening with so much 
delight to the lively fife of the splendid Cardinal, as I 
travelled alone through the deep and wild solitudes which 
prevail over the Southern States, and bid, as I thought, 
perhaps an eternal adieu to the sweet voice of my charm- 
ing companions, what was my surprise and pleasure, on the 
7th of May, to hear, for the first time in this State, and 
in the Botanic Garden, above an hour together, the live- 
ly and loud song of this exquisite vocalist, whose voice 
rose above every rival of the feathered race, and rung al- 
most in echoes through the blooming grove in which he 
had chosen his retreat. In the Southern States, where 
they every where breed, they become familiarly attached 
44* 
