In scattered plumes the floating clouds
Went drifting down the west,
Like barks that in their haven soon
Would moor and be at rest.
The Day sank down, a monarch tired,
Upon Night’s sable breast.
The wind was all but hushed to sleep,
Yet now and then it stirred
A great tree’s top, and whispering,
Awoke a slumbering bird,
Who half aroused, but only chirped
A song of just a word.
And in the west the rosy light
Spread out a thousand arms,
Each with a torch, whose crimson flame
Stretched o’er the peaceful farms,
And o’er the yellow corn, that lay
Unconscious of all harms.
Then changed into a waste of blue
A desert tract of air,
Where no rich clouds, like Indian flowers
Bore blossoms bright and fair;
And over all, a sense of want
And something lost was there.
—Walter Thornbury.
THE PINE GROSBEAK.
(_Pinicola enucleator._)
Ere the crossbills leave the pine woods,
Ere the grosbeaks seek the ash seeds.
—Frank Bolles, “The Log-Cock.”
The name grosbeak, or great beak, is a common name for a number of birds
that possess large, thick and strong bills which are adapted to crushing
fruits and seeds. Unfortunately this name has been indiscriminately
applied to the representatives of several bird families.
The true grosbeaks are related to the goldfinch, the finches, the
sparrows, the buntings and the crossbills. In fact they have some of the
marked characteristics of the latter birds, as neither develop the fully
adult plumage for several years.
The Pine Grosbeak must be sought in the northern regions of the northern
hemisphere, where the vast forests of cone bearing trees are found, or
among the coniferous trees of the high altitudes of the western mountain
regions of the United States. In the latter place they are not abundant.
It seems to be at home and contented only in the cold, crisp air of the
far north and seldom seeks a more temperate climate except when the
winters are unusually severe or there is a scarcity of food in its
native haunts. It is a frequent winter visitor to the northern tier of
the United States and is quite abundant, at this season, in some
portions of New England. Except during the nesting season the Pine
Grosbeaks are gregarious and are frequently seen in flocks of fifteen or
more individuals. In the winter climate of the northern United States
these flocks contain many more immature than adult birds, the younger
ones seeming to be less able to withstand the severer cold of more
arctic regions. Thus in this district the more brilliant plumage of the
fully adult male is rarely seen, and becomes a valuable acquisition to
the naturalist, for the younger birds and the females are less showy.
Speaking of the beautiful male bird, some one has said, “Scarcely can
the southern climes send us a more brilliant migrant than this casual
visitor from the north.” There is a slight variation in the plumage
coloration and in the shape of the bills of the Pine Grosbeaks of widely
separated regions. These variations have led ornithologists to group
these birds under geographical races giving each race a varietal name.
Speaking of the Pine Grosbeaks of Siberia Mr. Seebohm says, “Almost all
the forest districts are hilly and in the north, as the trees become
smaller, they are also more thinly scattered over the ground and the
interminable extent of wood is broken by occasional flat, open spaces
and open marshes which become gray with flowers as soon as the snow
melts. The scenery is much more park-like than further south and these
birds are much more plentiful and more easily seen. In the large pine
forests they prefer the banks of the rivers or the outskirts of some
open place and may often escape detection because of their habit of
frequenting the tops of trees. Within the Arctic circle many of the
trees are small and on the hilly ground they are scattered in small
clumps. In places like these the Pine Grosbeaks may often be seen
perched conspicuously on the top of a spruce fir, twenty or thirty feet
from the ground but looking so much like the last spike of the tree as
frequently to escape notice.”
The Pine Grosbeak is a retiring bird and would seem to be somewhat shy
as it does not frequent the roadside or inhabited places except when
forced to do so by the lack of food. This, however, is not the case, for
in the forests where it makes its home it is not difficult to approach
it. It will frequently alight and begin feeding within a few feet of an
observer.
[Illustration: PINE GROSBEAK.
(Pinicola enucleator.)
⅔ Life-size.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.]
The song of the European form of this species is said to be “exceedingly
agreeable, varied, melodious, sonorous—sometimes strong, sometimes
soft.” It is also a mocker and to a limited extent will imitate the
voices of other birds. Dr. Coues likens its song to that of the purple
finch and says that during the late summer and winter it is “clear,
sweet and flowing.” Its call note is single, sweet and plaintive not
unlike that of the well known bullfinch.
Pine seeds seem to form the principal food of the Pine Grosbeak though
it also feeds extensively on those of the birch, alder and related
trees. At times it will descend to the ground and gather the seeds of
herbaceous plants and may eat a few insects. Dr. Dall writing of the
Pine Grosbeak as he found it in Alaska, says: “I have opened the crops
of a great many and always found them filled with what I for a long time
supposed to be spruce buds, but on closer examination I found that they
were the hearts of the poplar buds, with the scales and other external
coverings carefully rejected. I have never found anything else in their
crops.” In those regions where the mountain ash abounds the berries of
this beautiful tree form a very important part of their diet whenever it
frequents such a district.
The outer wall of the home of this denizen of the forest is constructed
of a framework of slender fir or pine twigs. Inside of this wall and
projecting above it is placed a lining of fine roots and grass woven
with a fine hairlike lichen.
The Pine Grosbeak seems to bear confinement, but when caged it is said
that after the first moulting the crimson color of the plumage is
replaced by a bright yellow. Mr. E. W. Nelson observed these birds in
Alaska and says, “During winter, while traveling along the frozen
surfaces of the water courses of the interior it is common to note a
party of these birds busy among the cottonwood tops, uttering their
cheerful lisping notes as they move from tree to tree. I have frequently
passed a pleasant half hour on the wintry banks of the Yukon, while
making a midday halt and waiting for the natives to melt the snow for
our tea, listening to the chirping and fluttering of these birds as they
came trooping along the edges of the snow-laden woods in small parties.
They rarely paid any attention to us, but kept on their way and were,
ere long, lost to sight in the midst of the bending tree tops and
silence again pervaded the dim vistas of the low woods. Beyond the
faint, soft call note uttered as the birds trooped along through the
forests, I never heard them make any sound.”