Seed Eaters
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Northern Cardinal
-
Cardinals were once popular cage
birds for their bright color and rich, varied songs
-
Cardinals learn their songs, and as
a result the songs vary regionally
-
Northern Cardinals' diet consists
mainly (up to 90 percent) of weed seeds, grains, and fruits

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
- The
nest of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is so thinly constructed that eggs often
can be seen from below through the nest.
- The
male Rose-breasted Grosbeak participates in incubation of the eggs, accounting
for about 1/3 of the time during the day (the female incubates over night).
- They
eat insects, seeds, fruits, and buds

Blue Grosbeak
- Large
bill can handle large seeds, including corn, and insects such as mantids and
grasshoppers
- Compact
cup made of twigs, bark, rootlets, and other fibers and strips of material,
placed low in shrubs or small trees
- They
have pale blue eggs

Indigo Bunting
- The
Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its
orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the
stars
- The
sequences of notes in Indigo Bunting songs are unique to local neighborhoods
-
Experienced adult Indigo Buntings can return to their previous breeding sites
when held captive during the winter and released far from their normal
wintering area

Eastern Towhee
- Nests
on ground at base of upright vegetation or in vine tangle or shrub
-
They mainly eat insects, acorns,
seeds and berries
-
Populations declining, most
severe in New England

American Goldfinch
- The
American Goldfinch is one of the latest nesting birds. It usually does not
start until late June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing
with breeding
- The
bird eats mostly grain, but will eat insects in order to provide young chicks
with protein
- The
American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a
complete molt of its body feathers. It is the only member of its family to
have this second molt in the spring