LVIII 



Ameeican Goldfinch; Thistle-bird; *'Wild Canary"; 



Yellow-bird 

 529. Astragalinus tristis tristis (Linn.) 



The length of the American Goldfinch is about five 

 inches ; its general coloring is a rich lemon-yellow, slightly- 

 whitish on the tail, with black patch on the crown; the 

 wings and tail are black with more or less white marking. 

 In winter the male and the female are much alike, as 

 the male's yellow turns to brown and the black on his 

 head fades, while the black on the wings and tail re- 

 mains. 



Goldfinches nest in thickets bordering open spaces, 

 where thistles and other weeds thrive. The nest is ten 

 feet from the ground and is composed of plant fibre, down 

 and hairs. The eggs, from three to five in number, are 

 whitish-green, sometimes marked with small brown 

 specks. 



The American Goldfinch is a bird ranging and breed- 

 ing from Mexico to the interior of Canada; its nesting 

 period is in a measure governed by the ripening of the 

 seeds upon which it lives. It must not be confused with 

 the Summer Yellowbird — Yellow Warbler — ^which is also 

 sometimes called the Wild Canary. The latter has a 

 yellow crown, while the crown of the Goldfinch is black. 



In late fall and even in mild winters the American 

 Goldfinch may be seen in gardens and weed fields ; it is 

 partial to lettuce and wild thistle seeds and its going 

 south is, in a great measure, due to pursuit of food sup- 

 ply, and not to a strictly migratory trait. 



Goldfinches are gregarious, except during the mating 

 period; they delay mating until late in the season, fre- 

 quently not nesting near Kansas City, Missouri, until 

 September. (Fig. 91.) When these lovely semi-migrants 

 return to us late in the winter or early in the spring, 

 and feed in flocks on the fallen thistle pods on the ground, 

 the male, at a distance, is hard to distinguish, with his 



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