344 Birds of Colorado 



Western Goldfinch. Astragalus tristis pallidum. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 520a— Colorado Records— Cooke 97, p. 212 ; 

 Aiken 00, p. 298 ; Gilman 07, p. 156 ; Rockwell 08, p. 171. 



Description. — Closely resembling A. tristis, but distinctly larger ; 

 the breeding males perhaps a shade paler and the winter males paler 

 and greyer, and as compared with typical eastern specimens the white 

 markings of the wings and tail more extended ; but the typical form in 

 Colorado 13 somewhat intermediate in this respect. Dimensions of a 

 Colorado example, a male in breeding plimaage : Length 4-8 ; wing 

 3 0; tail 1-90; culmen -42 ; tarsus -52. 



Distribution. — The Rocky Mountain region of western North America, 

 from British Columbia and western Manitoba south to northern and 

 eastern Mexico. 



Mr. Aiken first pointed out that both the subspecies of Goldfinch 

 occurred in Colorado, but the present subspecies seems the rarer in 

 the eastern portion ; it is represented in the Aiken collection by one 

 Colorado example — a male in breeding plumage, taken close to 

 Colorado Springs on 17th May, 1898. The Goldfinch of La Plata co. 

 and south and west Colorado is probably the western form. This 

 subspecies most probably breeds in Colorado, though so far has not been 

 definitely recorded as doing so. It is reported from Grand Junction, 

 November 11th (Rockwell). 



Arkansas Goldfinch. Astragalinus psaltria. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 530— Colorado Records— Say 23, vol. ii., p. 40 ; 

 Henshaw 75, p. 245 ; Drew 81, p. 90 ; 85, p. 16 ; Allen & Brewster 

 83, p. 161 ; Beckham 85, p. 141 ; 87, p. 124 ; Morrison 88, p. 73 ; 89, 

 p. 38 ; Nash 97, p. 29 ; Cooke 97, pp. 99, 213 ; Keyser 02, p. 32 ; 

 Henderson 03, p. 108 ; 09, p. 236 ; Gihnan 07, p. 156 ; Rockwell 08, 

 p. 171 ; Warren 09, p. 16 ; Gary 09, p. 182. 



Description. — Male — General colour above, including the ear-coverts, 

 olive-green ; top of the head, wings and tail, and upper tail-coverts 

 black ; a patch at base of primaries, the edges and the inner secondaries 

 the tips of the middle-coverts, the inner webs, except the tips of the 

 three outer tail-feathers, all white ; below bright canary-yellow ; iris 

 brown, bill homy-brown, legs brownish. Length 4-20 ; wing 2-65 ; 

 tail 1 -70 ; culmen -40 ; tarsus -47. 



The female has the crown like the back, but generally with slight 

 traces of dusky streaks ; the wing and tail like the male, but rather duller 

 in colour and the white somewhat restricted ; below dull olive-yellow 

 paling posteriorly ; size smaller, wing 2-45. The young bird is like 

 the adult female, but tinged with buffy. 



Distribution. — The western United States, breeding from northern 

 California to the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado ; 

 south in winter to Lower California, Arizona and Now Mexico 



