8 Oregon's Imported Songsters. [ZOE 
between the imported and native species. Asan illustration: In 
March, 1884, I was frequently told by different parties, of a finch 
that had been imported from Japan and become naturalized in the 
vicinity of Portland. — Its history was well-known to the majority 
of Portland business men, the only difference in their testimony 
being that about half of them reported the bird as coming from 
Australia. Several of my informants went so far as to say that 
they were present when the birds were released. It was some time 
before I was able to find a specimen of this vava avis, and what was 
my surprise to discover that the Australian-Japanese importation 
was the common evening grosbeak ( Coccothraustes vespertina). 
Capt. Chas. E. Bendire, in a letter received during the fall of 1884, 
refers to the same story and informed me that he had investigated 
it with the same result. Whether some species had actually been © 
brought to Portland, from a foreign country, and the evening gros- 
beak been confounded with it, 1 was unable to decide, but think 
the story was without foundation. 
In 1890, while collecting data regarding the species imported — 
from Germany, I encountered my friend the grosbeak in a new — 
role; many of the persons of whom I sought information told me 
that the city was full of “German finches,’’ ‘‘ they could be seen 
about the maples anywhere.”’ With a spirit of accommodation 
that was quite to be admired, Coccothraustes was doing its best to 
enact the part of Carduelis, Pyrrhula and Loxia, and as far as my 
inquiries went giving perfect satisfaction. - 
I was frequently told of the great increase in bird music since 
the arrival of the German Songsters, and many newspaper articles 
refer to the beneficial effects. A clipping from the San Francisco 
Call of January 1, 1891, lies before me and is, perhaps, a fair sam- 
ple, from which I copy the following: ‘It is now no uncommon 
sight in the vicinity of Portland and different parts of Oregon to 
see skylarks caroling far up in the air, thrushes singing among the 
trees, and finches and linnets near the houses, also singing as 
sweetly as in their native haunts. Near Portland the songs of 
nightingales have been heard after dark during all summer.” 
_ As for my personal experience during the past season (1890), in — 
the vicinity of Portland, I did not hear a single song that I could 
not identify as proceeding from some of our native species. The 
region from which the goldfinches and skylarks were reported was : 
not visited, however, | Pott 
