472 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part i 



range in spring is 5,000 feet, in summer 9,500 feet, and in autumn 

 9,000 feet. It has been found breeding from 5,500 feet to an extreme 

 of 11,500 feet elevation. It nests regularly in the vicinity of Denver 

 (Lincoln, 1920). Hering (1948) found two pairs nesting during a 

 census of a 75-acre tract of yellow pine forest and creek environment. 

 Drew (1881) found the birds in willow bushes along the Rio Animas 

 where he states the birds breed. 



In the Panhandle of Oklahoma the lesser goldfinch is a summer 

 resident. Tate (1923) found a nest vnih three eggs in Cimarron 

 County, Aug. 4, 1921 . It is a comparatively common summer resident 

 in the western half of Texas. Stevenson (1942) states that it is 

 resident near Amarillo in the central Texas Panhandle where he 

 observed birds in February, May, August, September, and December. 

 At Kerrville in south-central Texas, Lacey (1911) reports the earliest 

 date of arrival as March 29, the next earliest April 18, and the average 

 arrival date as April 28; it leaves about mid-October. J. E. Stillwell 

 writes me of seeing 35 or more lesser goldfinches on a farm-bordered 

 road about 20 miles southeast of Kerrville on May 16, 1956. They 

 were in handsome nuptial plumage, and a number were singing a song 

 resembling certain phrases of the red-eyed vireo, but he heard nothing 

 like the song of the American goldfinch. In that section of the state 

 many of the nests are in pecan and walnut trees, and complete sets 

 of four eggs have been found the first week in June. 



At San Antonio, Bexar County, Tex., Attwater (1892) found them 

 breeding in cedar brakes in the same localities chosen by the golden- 

 cheeked warblers. Van Tyne and Sutton (1937) found the lesser 

 goldfinch common in Brewster County, southwestern Texas, and col- 

 lected specimens in May. They saw few at Alpine during February, 

 1935, and on March 20 they saw a flock of five in the Chisos Mountains 

 at an altitude of 5,100 feet. A female taken May 3 and a male on 

 May 12 were still in their prenuptial molt. Specimens taken after 

 May 16 were in full nuptial plumage. 



Bailey (1928) presents many records for New Mexico, where the 

 lesser goldfinch is most common at 6,000 to 7,000 feet elevation. 

 Only a few breeding records have been made there below 5,000 feet. 

 Mitchell (1898) found it nesting as high as 10,000 feet in San Miguel 

 county. In none of the warmer, lower parts of New Mexico is the 

 species common, though it breeds in some of the hottest sections 

 of Mexico. Most of the lesser goldfinches desert New Mexico for 

 the winter, but there are a number of winter records. 



The range of this subspecies extends westward in eastern Arizona, 

 where Jenks (1936) found it breeding throughout the Upper Sonoran 

 Zone on the north and east slopes of the White and Blue mountains. 

 He collected two typical examples on July 4, 1935, near Springville, 



