348 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part i 



"The length of time a female remains off her nest depends, of 

 course, upon the state of incubation of the eggs; when she returns 

 to it, the male settles on some favorite nearby rock and pours forth 

 his beautiful song, repeating it time and time again. The serenity 

 of the scene is interrupted only by some wandering finch which must 

 be chased away most vigorously." 



Eggs and young. — Hanna (1922) says: "The normal set consists 

 of five eggs, but four and six are not infrequent. While the color is 

 usually pure, immaculate white, in some cases there are faint reddish 

 or yellowish brown spots or, more often, specks, many of which are 

 almost microscopic in size. 



"Two broods of young are raised each year under normal conditions, 

 and hence this species increases rapidly in numbers if free from 

 enemies. The period of incubation is not definitely known, but the 

 second sets are laid by August 1 in the majority of cases. It is 

 believed that the same nest is used for both sets, or at least the same 

 location. Sometimes it appears that a portion of the old nest is 

 torn out and then reconstructed." 



Food. — Preble and McAtee (1923) report on the contents of 22 

 stomachs from the Pribilof Islands as follows: 



The food in these stomaclis was found to be vegetable, 75.5 percent; and 

 animal, 24.5 percent. The plant diet was chiefly seeds, but in a few cases bits of 

 leaves and fruiting capsules v/ere eaten. Seeds of crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) 

 were found more frequently than any other (i.e., in 6 gizzards) and from 20 to 40 

 seeds were present in certain of these stomachs. The largest numbers of seeds 

 eaten by any of these rosy finches were 250 and 450, in two instances, of those of 

 brook saxifrage (Chrysoplenium beringianum) . In one case also 160 seeds of sea 

 parsley (Ligusticum scoticum) were contained in a single stomach. Other seeds 

 eaten included those of grass, rush {Juncus sp.), sedge (Carex sp ), chickweed 

 (Alsine borealis), buttercup (Ranunculus sp.), water chickweed (Montia fontana), 

 cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.), and bluebell {Campanula sp.). 



Of the animal food, approximately 21 percent of a total of 24.5 percent con- 

 sisted of two-winged flies, 2 percent of beetles, and 1 percent of springtails. The 

 flies consumed were chiefly crane flies (Tipulidae), and the beetles included 

 ground beetles {Pierostichus sp. and others), leaf beetles (Chrysomela suhsulcata), 

 beach beetles (Aegialites calif ornicus) , and weevils. Caterpillars occurred in 

 2 stomachs and springtails {Aptera: Collembola) in 1. The latter insects were 

 identified as Isotoma violacea var. mucronala, and the record is the first of the 

 occurrence of this species on American territory. 



Mr. Hahn noted the rosy finch feeding on seeds of poochka, or wild parsnip 

 (Coelopleunim gmelini), and of rye grass, and Mr. Hanna observed that in winter 

 they appeared to feed almost exclusively on the seeds of poochka. 



Behavior. — Hanna (1922) writes: "The males spend the greater 

 part of the summer fighting each other. * * * Often a female mxay 

 be seen pursued by a half a dozen suitors. When the female is off 

 her nest, her mate (or, at least, some mate) is constantly close beside 

 her, and, if rosy finches are abundant, many is the battle he has to 



