i68 The Ottawa Naturalist. [December 



Hoary Redpoll. Acanthis hornmannii exihpes. 



This species has been taken at Peticodiac, in eastern New 

 Brunswick, and is considered very rare. 



Common Redpoll. Acanthis linarta. 



These birds are so erratic in their wanderings that one winter 

 they may be abundant, next winter none, or come in autumn, pass 

 on and not be seen here again until the following winter. Their 

 favorite food is the fruits of the yellow birch and black alder. 

 Weed and grass seeds are also eaten extensively. The writer has 

 watched redpolls feeding upon seeds put out for them. They 

 would feed for seven hours daily, and at the rate of fifty seeds per 

 hour. This species should surely be befriended by the " Man 

 with the hoe." 



American Goldfinch. Spinus trisiis. 



During the winter ot 1900-1 goldfinches were observed here, 

 February 15th, a very unusual occurrence, the usual time of 

 arrival being in May. The greatest surprise came two years later 

 when this species stayed all winter. The males were about the 

 same color as the female's summer plumage, being entirely unlike 

 the bright yellow plumage they wear in summer. The crown 

 lacks the black cap, being the same color as the back. By the 

 first of April the color of the plumage began to change. A few 

 black feathers began to come in the crown and the body feathers 

 began to show some yellow. By the middle of May nearly all 

 were changed to the garb of summer. They fed throughout the 

 winter upon the fruits of the yellow birch and cedar or arbor-vitae. 



Pine Finch. Spinus pinus. 



This S])ecies, like the redpoll, is so erratic in its movements 

 that one never knows whether or not it will occur during the 

 winter season, yet it is during the winter that we are most sure of 

 its presence. They, like the goldfinch, feed upon the fruits of the 

 yellow birch and arbor-vitae When occasion demands they are 

 pugnacious mites, as when at the salt-lick they would drive the 

 crossbills away The yellow of the plumage is much more bright 

 in spring than in autumn. When the male is paying his respects 

 to the female of his choice, he displays his colors to good advant- 



