BIRDS OF AMERICA 



on ; we can fix this up. We can add a little to it 

 and have a modern house." But this did not 

 suit the lady, for she turned and flew away in 

 disgust and he followed. Yet in a little while, 

 they were back again discussing the same ques- 

 tion. We saw the wife take hold of one of the 

 old strings as if she thought it might be a good 

 idea to use it in the new home. At least, it 

 would save a little hunting. And, indeed, that 

 is just what they did. They built a new nest 

 about six feet away. Occasionally when they got 

 tired of hunting straws and strings for the new 

 house, they pulled a little out of the old nest 

 until the last straw was used. 



Out in San Clemente Island off the southern 

 coast of California, we found House Finches 

 were very numerous about the sheep camp. 

 There were no trees in which they could nest, so 

 their homes were found in every odd corner 

 about the sheds. I counted about forty nests, 

 some old, and many new ones containing eggs. 

 The door of the blacksmith shop was tied open 

 and in behind this I found a nest wedged and 

 resting on an inch strij). A House Finch was 

 sitting on five eggs. Had the door been untied, 

 the nest would have fallen to the ground. I 

 found another nest in an old can that was hung 

 against the wall. On nearly every beam and 

 bracket in the sheep sheds, was a Linnet's home. 

 Some of these, I could see, had been used over 

 and over again, the bird, of course, remodeling 

 or building a little on the old home. The birds 

 used the material closest at hand. Many of the 

 nests were made of wool that had been thrown 

 about on the floor. The only fruit about the 

 island was that of the cactus and this seemed to 

 satisfy the Linnets. Whenever a sheep was 

 killed and the Mexicans hung the fresh meat out 

 in the open, the Linnets took their share. I saw 

 where all the meat had been picked from several 

 bones that were hanging up. 



WlLLIA.M L. FiNLE'i'. 



There are several varieties of the House Finch 

 south of the United States and Mexican border. 

 North of the boundary is one local form, the 

 San Clemente House Finch ( Carpodacus mexi- 

 canits dementis) found in the Santa Barbara 

 Islands, California, and darker in coloration than 

 the House Finch. 



Observations in orchards show that in the fruit 

 season, the House Finch is not backward in tak- 

 ing what it considers its share of the crop, and 

 as it spends much of its time there, field obser- 

 vations alone would lead to the conclusion that 

 fruit was its principal article of diet. 



Examination of stomach contents proves that 

 such is not the case, and when we find how small 

 is the relative percentage of fruit eaten, it seems 

 strange that its fruit-eating proclivities should 

 have attracted so much attention. But it must 

 be borne in mind that the bird is wonderfully 

 abundant, which is a primary condition under 

 which any species may become injurious. More- 

 over, it must be noted that not all of the fruit 

 destroyed is eaten. Only one peck from the 

 strong bill is necessary to break the skin of the 

 pear, peach, or cherry, and the fruit is spoiled : 

 the House Finch by no means invariably visits 

 the same individual fruit a second time to finish 

 it, but often attacks a fresh one at each meal. 

 This is proved by the large number of half-eaten 

 fruits, either on the tree or on the ground be- 

 neath. 



While the strong, conical beak of the House 

 Finch is a very effective instrument in attacking 

 fruit, this is evidently not the use for which 

 nature primarily designed it. Hard-billed birds 

 are supposed to feed on seeds and that this 

 species is no exception has been proved by ex- 

 aminations of contents of over 1200 stomachs. 

 Seeds of plants, mostly those of noxious weeds, 

 constitute about seven-eighths of its food for 

 the vear and in some months amount to much 

 more. 



CROSSBILL 



Loxia curvirostra minor {Brclun) 



A, O. U. Number 5.;i 



Other Names. — American Crossbill ; Red Crossbill ; 

 Common Crossbill. 



General Description. — Length, 6 inches. Male, dull 

 red : female, grayish-olive. Bill, with the tips crossed 

 in adults ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, short, narrow, 

 and deeply forked. 



See Color Plate 77 



Color. — Adult Male: General color, dull red (vary- 

 ing from dull brownish scarlet or almost orange- 

 chrome in summer to a hue approaching dragon's blood 

 red in winter), the red brightest on rump, dullest on 

 back and shoulders, where the feathers have dusky 

 brownish centers; middle of abdomen, light grayish; 



