FINCHES 



13 



otluT will pick out the seeds. He also attacks a large extent he feeds on the seeds of the 

 cones himself, especially those of the tamarack birches and alders. He also eats grass seeds and 

 and arbor vitje, but not always successfully. To weed seeds. 



EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH 

 Carduelis carduelis (Lininnis) 



Other Names. — Thistle Finch; Thistle Bird. 



General Description. — Length, 5' S inches. Body, 

 brown; wings and tail, hlack ; red spot on head. Bill, 

 elongate, conical, and acute ; wings, long and pointed ; 

 tail, rather short and deeply notched. 



Color. — Adults: Fore part of head, all round, 

 crimson ; lores, back part of crown, back of head and 

 neck, and bar from the latter halfway across side of 

 neck, black; rest of head, white tinged with brownish 

 buff; back, shoulders, and rump, plain brown; upper 

 tail-coverts, white ; wings and tail, mostly black ; greater 

 portion of greater coverts, basal portion of outermost 

 secondaries, and basal half or more of exposed portion 

 of outer webs of primaries, bright lemon-yellow ; 

 secondaries, primaries, and middle tail-feathers tipped 

 with white, the inner webs of side tail-feathers, also 

 partly white; sides of breast, sides, and flanks, plain 

 cinnamon-brown or wood-brown ; rest of under parts 

 white ; bill, whitish tinged with flesh color or lilac ; 

 iris, brown. Young: Wings and tail as in adults, but 



the former with middle and greater coverts tipped with 

 pale brownish, forming two bands ; no red on head nor 

 black on head or neck; crown and back of neck light 

 grayish brown, mottled or streaked with darker ; the 

 back also streaked with dusky ; chin and throat, whitish, 

 the latter flecked with sooty brown ; the foreneck, chest, 

 and breast, mottled or spotted with the same. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : A handsome thick-walled 

 structure of vegetable down, moss, and fine grasses; 

 the few noted in this country indicate a preference for 

 conifer trees as a site. Ecgs : 4 to 6, more cominonly 

 5, pale greenish or bluish white, spotted with chestnut 

 around large end. 



Distribution. — Europe in general, e.xcept extreme 

 northern portions ; south, in winter, to Palestine and 

 Egypt. Introduced into the northeastern United States 

 and naturalized in Cuba, in New York city and 

 vicinity, and Cincinnati, Ohio ; accidental (?) at New 

 Haven, Connecticut, near Boston, Worcester, etc., 

 Massachusetts, Toronto, Ontario, etc. 



The European Goldfinch is well known all over 

 Europe and has been introduced into America. 

 How many times and at what places the attempt 

 has been made to Americanize this favorite of 

 Europeans is uncertain. About 1872 it was in- 

 troduced at Cincinnati, in 1878 at Hoboken, 

 about 1880 in eastern Massachusetts, and in 1886 

 in Cuba. There may have been more importa- 

 tions. For a few years these beatitiful birds 

 were seen in the vicinity of New York city. In 

 1900 they were seen at nest building in Central 

 Park. Dr. Chapman saw two in Englewood. N. 

 J., in 191 1, but records are very rare. There 

 have been scattered observations in Massachu- 

 setts and Connecticut. In 1888 foiu' birds were 



seen in Toronto and in 1891) one bird in Ithaca, 

 N. Y. A German who knew the bird as the 

 Distclfink (Thistle Finch) is confident that he 

 saw one in Chicago in iQii. .'\bout New York 

 city they had formerly been seen in flocks of 

 .American Goldfinches with which their manners 

 and customs matched perfectly. It would seem 

 that this cheery and attractive little bird is not to 

 become as common as the English Sparrow, and 

 " more's the pity." In Europe the Goldfinch has 

 been a favorite cage bird for centuries. So 

 many thousands were captured in Great Britain 

 alone that Parliament had to take action for the 

 protection of the bird. But it seems never to 

 have been as common again. 



; Wild 

 Salad- 



.\ (). U. Xi. 



Other Names.— Yellow-bird ; Thistle Bird 

 Canary ; (_'atnip Bird ; Lettuce-bird ; .Shiner ; 

 bird ; Beet P>ird : .'\merican Goldfinch. 



General Description. — Length. 5 inches. Male in 

 summer has the body lemon-yellow and the wings and 

 tail black ; male in winter and female at all seasons 

 have the upper parts olive-brownish and the under 



GOLDFINCH 



Astragalinus tristis tristis (Linnirus) 



;ee Color Plates ;8, ;ci 



parts grayish-white with the wings and tail blackish. 

 Rill, small, conical, and acute; wings, long and pointed; 

 tail, rather short and forked ; legs, short. 



Color. — .'Kdult M.m.e in Summer: General color 

 pure lemon or canary-yellow ; the lores, forehead, and 

 crown, together with wings (except small coverts) and 

 tail, black; tail-coverts, middle (sometimes also lesser) 



