Cassell's book of birds; vol. 1Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 1
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
The PINE GROSBEAK (_Pinicola enucleator_) deserves our notice, as being
the largest of the Bullfinches. Its beak is vaulted on all sides, and
the upper mandible somewhat hooked, in this respect differing from
other finches; the margin is slightly curved, and the extreme tip of
the under mandible rather blunted. The legs are short and strong, the
toes powerful, the claws large, and the wings, when closed, seldom
reach beyond the first third of the tail; the latter is graduated to
the centre. The Pine Grosbeak resembles the Singing Thrush in size,
its length being from eight to nine inches, from three to three and a
half of which belong to the tail; the breadth across the wings varies
from thirteen to fourteen inches, and the wing measures four and a half
inches from the shoulder to the tip. The plumage is rich, and somewhat
straggling. In the old male birds, a pretty red shade predominates,
whilst those of a year old are somewhat yellower; the throat is of a
paler colour, and the wings marked with two crooked lines. The individual
feathers are ash-grey, blackish along the shaft, tipped at the end with
a red or reddish yellow, and dotted here and there in the middle with
a darker shade; the edges, on the contrary, are somewhat lighter, thus
producing a cloudy kind of marking. The wing and tail feathers are black,
bordered with a light shade, these borders being much more distinct upon
the shoulder-feathers. The beak is of a dirty brown, blackish at the
tip, the legs greyish brown, and the eyes dark brown. This bird inhabits
the northern countries of Europe and Asia, and in America there is a very
similar species. As far as we can ascertain, the Pine Grosbeaks live
during the summer alone, or in pairs, and only assemble during the winter
in flocks, that may be seen flying over the northern woods or frequenting
the solitary farms, returning at the commencement of spring to their
retreats in the forests. Should a heavy fall of snow occur and compel
them to migrate to more southern parts, the flocks will join each other,
and that often in very considerable multitudes.
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