. . afew daj^s later, not a beetle could be found; so the birdshad saved the potatoes. There is an exquisite purity in the joyous carol of theGrosbeak; his song tells of all the gladness of a May morn-ing; I have heard few happier strains of bird music. Withthose who are deaf to its message of good cheer I can onlysympathize. (Chapman.) The male, though a fine songster, makes himself usefulby relieving the female of the duties of incubation, oftensinging while on the nest. In molting, the feathers comeoff in patches, leaving the male
. . afew daj^s later, not a beetle could be found; so the birdshad saved the potatoes. There is an exquisite purity in the joyous carol of theGrosbeak; his song tells of all the gladness of a May morn-ing; I have heard few happier strains of bird music. Withthose who are deaf to its message of good cheer I can onlysympathize. (Chapman.) The male, though a fine songster, makes himself usefulby relieving the female of the duties of incubation, oftensinging while on the nest. In molting, the feathers comeoff in patches, leaving the male a most woebegone bird anda silent one. The new coat of the male is a good matchfor the sparrow-like dress of the female. The nests are placed at elevations not to exceed fifteenfeet. They are loosely made of stiff stems and rootlets,very little soft material is used even in the lining. Threeor four eggs are deposited in May or June. The back-ground is deep greenish-blue and the marks are in the formof specks and spots of deep brown, chiefly at the larger nrvKiaHT iio3, iy ». w. Muuftno, miwm. 570 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. (Habia melanocephala).Lile-size FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 849 THE BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK* The Black-headed Grosbeak may be considered theWestern representative of the rose-breasted species of theeastern United States. Its range extends from BritishColumbia and Montana southward into Mexico and LowerCahfornia. Throughout the larger portion of this dis-trict it is quite common. It appears to shun the pinewoods, preferring ravines wooded with deciduous trees andupgro^\Ti to shrubbery, as well as the thick willow copsesthat fringe the mountain streams. On the mountain sidesit seldom ventures higher than eight thousand feet. In its flight, feeding habits, and, in fact, in all itsactions, it closely resembles its rose-breasted relative. Itdoes not fly high, and during the breeding season the birds,as a rule, do not associate with each other to any greatextent. In
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