Purple Finch 329 



Key of the Species. 



A. Crown and rump crimson (males). 



a. Tail distinctly emarginate ; wing washed with reddish. 



a^ Bill smaller, culmen -45 ; flanks and under tail-coverts 

 white and unstreaked. C. purpureas, 3 p. 329. 



b^ Bill larger, culmen -50 ; flanks and under tail-coverts 

 smoky-white and streaked with dusky. 



C. cassini, (? p. 329 



b. Tail almost square ; wings without red wash. 



C. m. frontalis, <? p. 331 



B. Crown and rump without red. 



a. Tail emarginate. 



a^ Back tawny-brown with dusky streaks. 



C. purpureus, ? p. 329. 

 b^ Back with a strong wash of olive, streaked with dusky. 



C. cassini, ? p. 329. 



b. Tail square ; back plain grey-brown, obsoletely streaked. 



C. m. frontalis, ? p. 331. 



Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 517— Colorado Record— Cooke 97, p. 96. 



Description. — Male — Crown and rump crimson, the latter of a paler 

 shade, back pinkish-brown, streaked with darker ; wing and tail dusky 

 brown ; below throat and chest crimson, like the rump ; abdomen 

 and imder tail-coverts white and vmstreaked, flanks with streaks of 

 dusky ; tail markedly forked. Length 5 -80 ; wing 3 -20 ; tail 1 -90 ; 

 culmen -45 ; tarsus -60. 



The female has no crimson, is pale brown above, streaked with darker, 

 and below whitish, streaked throughout, except the vmder tail-coverts 

 with dark brown. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from Pennsylvania to 

 Manitoba northwards, wintering south from eastern Texas to Florida. 



The only record of the occurrence of this eastern bird in Colorado 

 is that of Anthony, who wrote to Cooke that he had shot a female 

 example near Denver, November 15th, 1885 ; it was in company 

 with Cassin's and the House-Finch, and can only be considered a 

 straggler in the State. 



Cassin's Purple Finch. Carpodacus cassini. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 518— Colorado Records— Allen 72, pp. 156, 162 

 (C. purpureus) ; Aiken 72, p. 199 ; Trippe 74, p. 107 ; Henshaw 75, 

 p. 240 ; Scott 79, p. 93 ; Minot 80, p. 220 ; Drew 81, p. 89 ; 85, p. 16 ; 

 Tresz 81, p. 41 ; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 160 ; Stone 84, p. 20 ; 



