BIRDS OF KANSAS.' 415 



under tail coverts, ashy, whitest behind. Wings with two white bands across the 

 tips of the greater and middle coverts; the outer edge of the quills also white, 

 broadest on the tertiaries, on secondaries tinged with red. Female: Ashy, brown- 

 ish above, tinged with greenish yellow beneath; top of head, rump and upper 

 tail coverts brownish gamboge yellow. Wings much as in the male. Young 

 like female, but more ashy." 



Stretch of 



wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



14.00 4.60 4.00 .88 .55 



13.70 4.50 3.80 .88 .55 



The birds vaiy in size; in some specimens examined the fe- 

 males were fully as large as the males. 



Iris dark brown; bill, legs, feet and claws black. 



This extremely northern species inhabits the wooded lands, 

 the pine tree — as its name indicates — being the favorite. The 

 birds feed during the late fall and winter months almost exclu- 

 sively upon coniferous seeds, in the spring upon the tender buds 

 and blossoms of deciduous trees, insects, etc., and for a dessert 

 berries in their season. I have met with the birds twice in the 

 mountains of Colorado, and in February and March of 1880, at 

 Digby, Nova Scotia, saw several small flocks several times. 

 They were quite tame, and mating; the males singing from the 

 topmost Hmbs, or, rather, repeating a loud, but soft, clear whist- 

 ling note, and occasionally a few low, pleasing, twittering notes. 

 Very little is known in regard to their nesting habits. Dr. 

 Coues found them breeding in Labrador; and Mr. G. A. Board- 

 man describes a nest with two eggs, taken near Calais, Maine, 

 which he thinks belongs to this bird, but he failed to see the 

 parent birds. In the Smithsonian Institute are young birds 

 taken in the Kocky Mountains of Colorado. From this it would 

 appear that Colorado, Labrador, and probably northern New 

 England, are the extreme southern limits of their breeding 

 grounds, south of which they are only occasional winter vis- 

 itants. 



Kidgway says: "Their nest is a rather flat, thin structure of 

 fine rootlets, etc., in coniferous trees. Eggs, l.Olx.74; deep 

 greenish blue, or bluish green, rather sparingly spotted with 

 dark brown and black." 



