Male dull rosy red; female streaked brownish gray.
These beautiful songsters are common in the northern tier of states and in Canada. In spring the males are usually seen on, or heard from, tree tops in orchards or parks, giving forth their glad carols. They are especially musical in spring when the snow is just leaving the ground and the air is bracing. After family cares come upon them, they are quite silent, the male only occasionally indulging in a burst of song.
Song.—A loud, long-continued and very sweet warble; call, a querulous whistle.
Nest.—Of strips of bark, twigs, rootlets and grasses, placed at any height in evergreens or orchard trees. The eggs resemble, somewhat, large specimens of those of the [Chipping Sparrow]. They are three or four in number and are greenish blue with strong blackish specks (.85 × .65).
Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies, breeding from Pennsylvania and Illinois northward; winters throughout the United States.
AMERICAN CROSSBILL
521. Loxia curvirostra minor. 6 inches
These curious creatures appear in flocks on the outskirts of our cities every winter, where they will be found almost exclusively in coniferous trees. They cling to the cones, upon which they are feeding, in every conceivable attitude, and a shower of seeds and broken cones rattling through the branches below shows that they are busily working. They are very eccentric birds and the whole flock often takes flight, without apparent cause, only to circle about again to the same trees. The flute-like whistle that they utter when in flight sounds quite pleasing when coming from all the individuals in the flock.
Song.—A low twittering; call, a short, flute-like whistle.