Bird Bed and Breakfast

In the spring lots of birds stop in our yard on their way north. This week the rose-breasted grosbeaks paid us a visit. The photo could be better, but it was taken through the window on our enclosed porch. The card is another from the “Useful Birds of America” series, which were premiums for buying Arm and Hammer baking soda back in the 1920's and 1930’s. I like the illustration by Louis Agassi Fuertes very much. Here’s what the card says about these beauties.

“From the throat of this beautifully plumed bird is poured forth in the lush of the May morning so sweet a song that lucky is he who hears it. He frequents the second growth and thickets of small trees and bushes in overgrown fields. Of inestimable value is his service to man, for he consumes large numbers of tent caterpillars, gypsy and brown-tailed moths, canker worms, potato beetles, and many other harmful insects. The nest is in low trees and bushes and is made of twigs and fine rootlets. The eggs, which number four or five, are pale blue and heavily blotched with brown. The bird is found breeding in the northern United States and southern Canada.”

This site allows you to listen to their song:
http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=36