CASSIN'S FINCH 285 



Food. — Throughout most of the year members of this species are 

 vegetarians, hving largely on buds, berries, and seeds, particularly 

 those of conifers. No doubt a certain amount of animal food is taken 

 during the nesting season. The birds forage to a large extent on 

 the ground according to Salt (1952). 



Grinnell and Storer (1924) offer the following comments on the food 

 of these finches in the Yosemite region: "The feeding habits of the 

 Cassin Purple Finch are like those of the Cahfornia. It forages 

 either in the tops of the trees or on the ground, rarely feeding in bushes 

 and then only on the outer foliage. Near Tamarack Flat, on May 24, 

 1919, a male of this species was seen feeding on the urn-like buds of 

 the green manzanita. Young buds of one sort or another, especially 

 needle buds of the coniferous trees, seem to be the preferred food. 

 These and similar tender growths are likely the staple food of the 

 Cassin Purple Finch during the long winter season when the groimd is 

 covered with snow." 



In the Lassen region of California, Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale 

 (1930) found the gullet of a bird shot from high in a hemlock to be 

 "filled with the shelled kernels of two kinds of seeds, but no animal 

 matter was detected." Swarth (1901) records these finches feeding 

 in pepper and willow trees in Los Angeles in April. Arnold (1937) 

 observed a male Cassin's finch feeding on cotoneaster berries on Jan- 

 uary 18, 1934, in the Coalinga area of California, and Gander (1929a) 

 records seeing these finches in mixed flocks with California pm-ple 

 finches and house finches feeding on sunflower seeds on the grounds 

 of the San Diego Zoo on Mar. 23, 1927. 



Scott (1887) records members of this species feeding on the young 

 buds of Cottonwood in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona in 

 winter. Mrs. Bailey (1928) mentions the seeds of yellow pine found 

 in the crop of one Cassin's finch obtained in the Manzano Mountains 

 of New Mexico. She also mentions that in the Yellowstone these 

 finches had been found eating rock salt spread on the ground for 

 deer. Taylor (1912) records two individuals observed in northern 

 Humboldt County, Nev., feeding in the foliage of a quaking aspen at 

 7,500 feet. Munro (1950) comments on a juvenal observed feeding 

 on mulberries on August 21 in the Creston region of British Columbia. 



Behavior. — Except during the nesting season, extending from May 

 to July, members of this species are generaUy found in flocks. Cas- 

 sin's finch, as Hoffmann (1927) states, "shares the restlessness of the 

 family, starting for no apparent reason on long flights from one 

 feeding place or perch to another." 



In the Yosemite region Grinnell and Storer (1924) noted "a number 

 of Cassin Purple Finches foraging in company with several Sierra 

 Crossbills and a few Cahfornia Evening Grosbeaks." They also add 



