82 Birds of Oregon mid WasJihigton 



touches of light yellow on wings, back and tail, 

 and sometimes a flush of yellow appearing under 

 the surface of the feathers — eagerly devouring 

 these fugitive morsels. They may be seen, too, 

 upon the evergreen trees of the neighborhood, 

 and again upon other trees, singing in chorus 

 the softest, sweetest song imaginable. The 

 privilege of hearing this song is not given to the 

 people of the Atlantic coast, for before these 

 birds there begin their song, they have gone 

 north into the pines of British America, where 

 they nest in the tree-tops, far from the maraud- 

 ing hands of man. These Siskins, sometimes 

 called " Pine Finches," or *' Pine Linnets," linger 

 in this part of the country till the nesting-season 

 for other birds has quite begun ; and then, 

 though some of them probably disappear to the 

 mountains and possibly to the forests of the 

 North, a good many, at least, have learned to 

 trust their eggs and young to the neighboring 

 trees. 



The undulating flight of this bird should be 

 marked as like that of the Goldfinch, to which 

 it is related. 



The Pine Siskin is mostly a transient. 



