514 COMMON BUZZARD.
to prefer 1'resh-wator marshes, where its ffigi'GSn.be: most conveniently
obtained. It feeds on various grasses, gnaws off the twigs of the young
sassafras, ami uf lhc pond spiel (/Mumsgeniculata). I have soon rmmv
j>Ia.0es in the low grounds dug- up, the foot-print-i indicating that it was
the; work uf this specie, in search, of roots. It frequently llifoumd digging
for the bulbs, of the wild potato (Apios tuberusa), as also for those
of a small species of Amaryllis;(Amari/HU Atamnm). .
" living animal of this speSfesi'.'which was; 'sent me a
few weeks ago, having boon captured when full grown. It became
so gentle in a few days that it freely took its food from the hand. It
fed on turnip and cabbage leaves, but prefers bread to any other food
that has been offered ¡Jrdt. It is fond plying for hours in a trough of
water, and Wilis!; restless and um-aSy when the trough is removed,
scratching the sides of its tin' cage until it has been replaced, when it
immediately plunges in, burying the greater part A l t s body in the
water.
" It has already shed a great portion of its: summer, and resumed
its winter, drcs.s.. The hairs on the upper ¡surface, instjlfd'j&t' becoming
white at the point, as in the American Hare, have grown long and
black, through which the brownish parts beneath are still distinctly
visible.
" This »pecios, like others of the genus existing in this country, as
well as in. the door and squirrels, is infested with a troublesome larva
of an «'rtrui ill the summer and autumn, which, penetrating into the
flesh, and continuity enlarging, causes pain to the animal, and renders
it lean. One of those larva- dropped from an orifice in the throat of
the hare which I have in confinement. It was of the usual cylindrical
shape, but appears to differ in some particulars from the (Estrus awniculi"
I 5JS 1
EVENING GROSBEAK.
FRINGILLA VESPE&TINA, Co o p e k .
PI.ATK (WT.XXm. Mu.k.
This fine, species of Grosbeak was first introduced to the notice of
ornithologists by Mr Wi l l i am Cooper, who published an account of it
in the Annals of the Lyceum of New York. Mr Schcjolceaft observed
a few individuals, in the beginning of April 1823, near the Sault Sainte
Marie in Michigan, from which the species was traced to the Rocky
Mountains. Dr Richardson mentions, it as a common inhabitant of
the maple< grpv-iss on the Saskatchewan plains, whence " its native appellation
of Sugar-bird." The female remained utterly unknown until
it was obtained by I)r Townskxu, who found this Grosbeak abundant
about the Columbia River, and; procured a great number of specimens,
several of which are in my possession. The following note from him
contains all the information respecting its habits that I can lay before
you.
" Colombia River, May 27, 1836.*—The Evening Grosbeak, Frmgilla
vespertma, is very numerous in the pine-woods at this time. You
can scarcely enter a grove of pine* at any hour in the day without seeing
numbers of them. They are very unsuspicious and tame, and I
have, in consequence, been enabled to procure a fine suite of specimens.
The accounts that have been published respecting them by the only
two authors to whom I have, access, Mr Nu t t a l l and Prince Bonaparte,
are, X think, in many respects incorrect. In the first place, it
is stated1 that they are retiring and silent during the day, and sing only
on the approach of evening. Here they are remarkably noisy during
the whole of the day, from sunrise to Sunset. They then retire quietly
to their roosts in the summits of the tall pines, and are not aroused
until daylight streaks the east, when they come forth to feed as before.
Thus I have observed them here, but will not say but that at other
seasons, and in other situations, their habits may be different. They
are now, however, very near the season of breeding, as the organs of
the specimens I have examined sufficiently indicate. They appear
fond of going in large bodies, and it is rare to see one alone in a tree.