of seeds, and pass by various names, such as lettuce-bird, sallad-bird, thistle-bird, yellow-bird. They are very easily tamed.
The goldfinch is four inches and a half in length: the male is of a rich lemon color. The wings and tail are black, edged with white. In the fall, this color changes to a brown olive, which is the constant color of the female. They build a nest in the twigs of an apple tree, neatly formed of lichen and soft downy substances.
The Cardinal Grosbeak is one of our most common cage birds, and is very generally known both in this country and in Europe. Numbers of them have been carried to England and France, in which last country they are called Virginia nightingales. They have great clearness and variety of tones; many of which resemble the clear notes of the fife, and are nearly as loud. They begin in the spring at daybreak, and repeat a favorite passage twenty or thirty times. The sprightly figure and gaudy plumage of this bird, with his vivacity and strength of voice, must always make him a favorite.
The Crossbill is an inhabitant of almost all the pine forests situated north of forty degrees, from the beginning of September to the middle of April. The great pine swamp in Pennsylvania appears to be their favorite rendezvous. They then appear in large flocks, feeding on the seeds of the hemlock and white pine; have a loud, sharp, and not unmusical note; chatter as they fly; alight during the prevalence of the deep snows before the door of the hunter, and around the house, picking off the clay with which the logs are plastered, and searching in corners where any substance of a saline nature had been thrown. At such times, they are so tame as only to settle on the roof of the cabin when disturbed, and a moment after, descend to feed as before. They are then easily caught in traps. When kept in a cage, they have many of the habits of the parrot, often climbing along the wires, and using their feet to grasp the cones in, while taking out the seeds.
Carolina Parrot.—This is the only species of parrot found native within the territory of the United States. The vast luxuriant tracts lying within the torrid zone seem to be the favorite residence of those noisy, numerous and richly plumaged tribes. The Carolina parrot inhabits the interior of Louisiana and the shores of the Mississippi and Ohio, east of the Alleghanies. It is seldom seen north of Maryland. Their private places of resort are low, rich, alluvial bottoms along the borders of creeks; deep and almost impenetrable swamps filled with sycamore and cypress trees, and the salines or licks interspersed over the western country. Here too is a great abundance of their favorite fruits. The seeds of the cypress tree and beech nuts are eagerly sought after by these birds.
Carolina Parrot.
The flight of the Carolina parrot is very much like that of the wild pigeon, in close compact bodies, moving with great rapidity, making a loud and outrageous screaming, like that of the red-headed woodpecker. Their flight is sometimes in a direct line, but most usually circuitous, making a great variety of elegant and easy serpentine meanders, as if for pleasure. They generally roost in the hollow trunks of old sycamores, in parties of thirty or forty together. Here they cling fast to the sides of the tree, holding by their claws and bills. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their holes during the day, probably to take their regular siesta. They are extremely social and friendly towards each other.
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is not abundant any where; but it is found far north, though preferring a residence in the southern states. It feeds on berries and insects of various kinds. ‘In autumn,’ says Mr. Audubon, ‘they eat many grapes, and I have seen them supporting themselves by a momentary motion of their wings opposite a bunch, as if selecting the ripest, when they would seize it and return to a branch, repeating their visits in this manner, until satiated. They now and then descend to the ground, to pick up a wood-snail or a beetle. They are extremely awkward at walking, and move in an ambling manner, or leap along sidewise, for which the shortness of their legs is an ample excuse. They are seldom seen perched conspicuously on a twig, but on the contrary are generally to be found amongst the thickest boughs and foliage, where they emit their notes until late in autumn, at which time they discontinue them.’ It is shy and cowardly, robbing small birds of their eggs.
Woodpeckers.—The Red-headed Woodpecker is universally known from his striking and characteristic plumage, and the frequency of his depredations in the orchards and corn-fields. Towards the mountains, particularly in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, these birds are extremely abundant, especially in the latter part of the summer. Wherever you travel in the interior at that season, you hear them screaming from the adjoining woods, rattling on the dead limbs of trees, or on the fences, where they are perpetually seen flitting from stake to stake on the roadside before you. Wherever there are trees of the wild cherry, covered with ripe fruit, there you see them busy among the branches; and in passing orchards, you may easily know where to find the sweetest apples, by observing those trees on or near which this bird is skulking; for he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, that wherever an apple or pear is found broached by him, it is sure to be among the ripest and best flavored. When alarmed, he seizes a capital one by sticking his open bill deep into it, and bears it off to the woods. When the Indian corn is in its ripe, succulent, and milky state, he attacks it with great eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity. The girdled or leadened timber, so common among the corn-fields in the back settlements, are his favorite retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is fond of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays regular visits to the cherry trees, when loaded with fruit. Towards fall, he often approaches the barn or farm house, and raps on the shingles and weather-boards. He is of a gay and frolicsome disposition; and half a dozen of the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating round the high dead limbs of some tree, pursuing and playing with each other, amusing the passenger with their gambols. Their note or cry is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree-frog, which frequents the same tree, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the other.
Red-headed Woodpecker.
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker breeds in the Carolinas, and in strength and magnitude stands at the head of the tribe. He lives in the cypress swamps, seeking the tops of the most towering trees; his bill is like polished ivory, and his crest a superb carmine. His eye is brilliant and daring, and his manners are said to be dignified and noble. Among the other American birds of this tribe are the Pileated, Yellow-bellied, Golden-winged, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
Nuthatch.—The White-breasted Nuthatch is found almost every where in the woods of North America; his whole upper plumage is light-blue or lead, the under parts are white, and the crown of the head, black. Ants, seeds, insects, and larvæ, form his principal subsistence. There are two other species of this bird found in the United States.
The Ruby-throated Humming Bird is the only species of the genus found in the limits of the states, though there are upwards of one hundred in America. Its approach to the north is regulated by the advance of the season. He is extremely fond of tubular flowers, particularly of the blossoms of the trumpet flower. When arrived before a thicket of these, that are full blown, he suspends himself on wing for the space of two or three seconds, so steadily that his wings become almost invisible; the glossy golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat, dazzling in the sun, form altogether an interesting spectacle. When he alights, he prefers the small dead twigs of a bush, where he dresses and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His flight from flower to flower greatly resembles that of a bee, but is infinitely more rapid. He poises himself on wing, while he thrusts his long slender tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes out by the opposite door or window. He feeds on the honey extracted from flowers, and on insects.
‘The old and young,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘are soon reconciled
