510 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 



bent-grass. A few lint-threads of Indian hemp and cater- 

 pillars' silkj are occasionally thrown over the exterior ma- 

 terials, and agglutinated to them for the purpose of more 

 securely holding the whole together. They never make 

 use of any external patches of lichen^ nor use this sub- 

 stance in any manner ; and the eggs, 3 to 5, are white, 

 without any spots. This description is taken from 8 nests 

 of the same bird, which, with 3 or 4 more not inspected, 

 were all made towards the close of summer, chiefly in the 

 Botanic Garden at Cambridge. I have, the present sea- 

 son (1831), examined several more nests agreeing with 

 the above description ; and from the late period at which 

 they begin to breed, it is impossible that they can ever 

 act in the capacity of nurses to the Cow Troopial. This 

 procrastination appears to be occasioned by the lack of 

 sufficiently nutritive diet, the seeds on which they prin- 

 cipally feed not ripening usually before July. 



The American Goldfinch is never less than 5 inches in length ; of 

 a rich lemon-yellow, but nearly white on the rump and vent, and a 

 little paler on the upper part of the back. The crown, wings, and 

 tail, black ; the shoulder and its coverts olive-yellow, fading into 

 white; the gi eater coverts and tertials tipt and edged with white; 

 the tail handsomely forked, with the feathers acute at the points, and 

 shaded off into white on the inner webs towards their tips. The bill 

 and legs pale reddish-yellow, the latter much fainter. — In the month 

 of September the male moults into a new and humble dress of brown- 

 ish olive, nearly similar to that of the female ; the wing-coverts and 

 tertials are now edged with white, slightly tinged with rufous. At 

 this time, the bill and feet are brownish. Some males are provided 

 with a white wing-spot, visible only when the coverts are elevated. 



ARKANSAS SISKIN. 



{Fringillapsaltria, Say. Bonap. Am. Orn. i. p. 54. pi. 6. fig. 3. 

 [male]. Phil. Museum, No. 6278.) 



Sp. Charact. — Olivaceous ; beneath wholly yellow ; crown, wings, 

 and tail black } a white wing-spot ; lesser wing-coverts dusky 



