EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH 393 



well maintained in the neighborhood. During the winter of 1943-44, 

 six or seven foraged industriously in a large patch of burdock (Arctium) 

 behind an old bam. They eagerly sought the dark seeds within the 

 burrs, cracking them open with a slight movement of the bill and 

 swallowing the kernel. It took them about 3 seconds to husk and 

 swallow each seed. Five birds feeding close together on one large 

 burdock head made a beautiful sight. They also show a preference 

 for this plant in Britain. 



Behavior. — The European goldfinch flies with the undulations typical 

 of the American goldfinch, the redpolls, and other closely related 

 cardueline finches, but, as Witherby (1938) notes "with noticeably 

 light, flitting and 'dancing' action." Edmund Selous (1910) writes 

 that "They flew in a wild, fluttering, winter-butterfly way, over the 

 barren fields, on which they would suddenly descend before they had 

 gone very far * * *." 



Birds nesting close to a tar-surfaced road perched constantly on the 

 electric wires bordering it to sing, preen, and wipe their bills. Their 

 frequent and characteristic bill-wiping seems peculiar both to the 

 species and to the breeding season, and appears possibly to have some 

 sort of display function. 



The species is strongly territorial and defends its nesting area 

 vigorously. Pairs nesting in fairly large maples usually appropriated 

 about one-fourth of the tree and kept it clear of smaller birds. I 

 watched one incubating female leave her eggs to dash at a robin that 

 flew by within 4 feet of the nest. She followed it about 20 feet before 

 returning. To disturb the nesting birds as little as possible, I usually 

 did not examine then- nests until just before 1 left at each visit. Twice 

 my suspicions of tragedy at a nest I was watching were aroused by the 

 presence of small birds passing freely through the braches near it. 

 In each case the nest was rifled and the contents gone. 



At the arborvitae nest the male took up his perch about 40 feet away 

 on the wire nearest the nest. Although he tolerated other species on 

 the nearby wires, he charged all European goldfinches that came near 

 and kept them from between him and the nest. I once watched him 

 ward off three other goldfinches in succession with short threatening 

 flights, then fly across to the arborvitae and enter it from the opposite 

 side to feed his incubating mate. When I approached this nest too 

 closely, the female flushed and joined her mate on the wire, where both 

 pivoted back and forth, apprehensively uttering canarylike swees. 

 Their swaying and sweeing is apparently a sign of alarm or excitement, 

 for they so acted twice when cats appeared nearby. Both times one 

 of the pair flew low over the cat and chased it, uttering the same notes, 

 until it ran swiftly around a nearby house and out of sight. 



