CARDINAL REDBIRD. 349 
Loxia cardinalis, LINNZUS, Syst. Nat., 1766, 300. 
Fringilla (Cocothraustes) cardinalis, BONAPARTE; Obs. Wils., 1825, No. 79. 
Cardinalis virginianus, BONAPARTE, List, 1838, 35. 
Male: rich vermillion or rosy-red, obscured with ashy on the back; face black; bill 
reddish; feet brown. Female: ashy brown, paler below, with evident traces of the red 
on the crest, wings, tail, and under parts. Length, &-9; wing, about 33; tail, 4. 
Habitat, Eastern United States; west to Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas; north to the 
Middle States, rare in New York, casual in Connecticut, accidental in Massachusetts; 
represented by varieties in the Southwest, 
‘Common resident. Breeds. Frequents thickets in woodland and 
swamps. | 
The Cardinal Grosbeak, or Redbird, as it is here generally called, is 
better known as a cage bird than in its native state. It is resident 
throughout the State, though not sedentary, but wandering in winter 
and collecting in great numbers in suitable sheltered localities. Mr. 
Read says that he has taken it in Northern Ohio when the thermometer 
stood at zero. Dr. Kirtland, in 1838, said it “was hardly known in the 
Western Reserve until within the last three or four years,” but was 
then common and resident. Mr. Read also mentions their increasing 
numbers. 
In this vicinity they are generally distributed during the breeding 
season, but in severe winters they collect in large companies in swamp 
thickets. In one such locality of about ten acres in extent, I have seen 
in an hour more than a hundred birds. They are also frequent visitors 
to the gardens of the city during the colder portions of the year. 
In their habits and flight they bear considerable resemblance to the 
Brown Thrush. The call or alarm note of this bird is a loud sharp chip, 
and their song a highly modulated repetition of loud whistling notes of 
great variety. They often sing at night, and the song of the female, 
though weaker, is not less varied, and more pleasing than that of the 
“male. | 
Considerable numbers are trapped and sold. In cold weather almost 
any form of trap baited with corn, buckwheat, or other seeds, will capture 
them; in spring they are generally taken in trap-cages, by the use of 
decoy birds. They are nearly always to be found in the markets of the 
city, where they sell at from one to two dollars per pair. 
The nest is placed in a variety of situations, usually from three to ten 
feet from the ground. I have found them in low dense-topped trees, in 
thickets, on the top of vine-covered stumps, in wild-gooseberry bushes 
overhanging water, and in brush-heaps. I have found the nest ready for 
the reception of eggs as early as April 17. It is rather small and com- 
