372 FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
595. Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linn.). Rose-breasted Gros¬ 
beak. 
Adult male in breeding plumage. — Head and upper parts black, except 
for white rump and white markings on wings and tail; under parts white, 
except for rose red patches on 
breast and under wings. Adult 
female: dusky brown, streaked; 
head with whitish median stripe 
and superciliary; under parts 
grayish or buffy brown, streaked 
on breast and sides; under wing 
coverts yellow. Adult male in 
winter plumage: wings, tail, and 
upper tail coverts as in sum¬ 
mer ; upper parts reddish brown; 
head with butfy median crown 
stripe, superciliary, and malar 
stripes; back streaked with 
black ; under parts brownish, 
more or less streaked, and with 
pale rose on breast and under 
wings. Young male in first winter: 
like adult winter male, but wings, rump, upper tail coverts, and tail brown¬ 
ish, tail without white ; wings with white markings reduced and tinged with 
brown; chest, sides, and flanks deeper brown and more heavily streaked; 
chest with little if any pink; under wing coverts rose pink as in adult. 
Male: length (skins) 6.50-7.20, wing 3.85-4.10, tail 2.87-3.08, bill .59-.69. 
Female: length (skins) 6.75-7.00, wing 3.75-3.98, tail 2.75-2.95, bill .61-.70. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones from 
Canada south to Kansas, and from the Atlantic to Colorado ; winters in Cuba, 
Central America, and northern South America; accidental in California. 
Nest. — In bushes or low trees, saucer-shaped, made largely of wiry 
rootlets. Eggs : 2 to 4, bluish or greenish spotted with brown. 
Food. — Potato bugs and other insects, with seeds, and buds and blossoms 
of forest trees. 
From Biological Survey. U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 
Fig. 463. 
While the female rose-breasted grosbeak is brown and streaked 
like the female black-headed, the male is a rare beauty, the clear 
black, white, and rose of his plumage being handsomer than the 
black and brown of melanocephala. His song lacks the exquisite 
finish of the westerner’s, but is loud and musical and sung witli a 
joyous swing. His thin eek, like that of the black-headed, announces 
him, whether he be in an apple-tree or hidden in a thicket by a river. 
596. Zamelodia melanocephala (Swains.). Black-headed 
Grosbeak. 
Fig. 464. 
Adult male .— Under parts cinnamon brown brightening 
to lemon yellow on belly and under wing coverts ; upper 
parts mainly black, with cinnamon brown collar and 
rump, and sometimes brown stripes back of eye, through 
middle of crown, and on back; wings and tail black, 
wings with two white bars and white patch at base of 
quills, tail with white corners. Winter male: lighter 
