I6 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



region, hindneck, back, slioulders, and rump, olive- 

 green; zcijigs, black ik.ntli a large ivhitc patcli at base of 

 primaries; greater wing-coverts, tipped with white or 

 pale grayish ; primaries narrowly and inner wing quills 

 broadly edged with the same ; upper tail-coverts, black, 

 margined with olive-green ; tail, blackish ; under parts, 

 light yellozc. Adult Female: Above including crown, 

 olive-greenish, the crown sometimes indistinctly 

 streaked with dusky ; wings, as in adult male, but gen- 

 eral color grayish dusky instead of black; tail with the 

 white on inner webs of exterior tail-feathers restricted 

 to a squarish spot in middle portion ; under parts, light 

 olive-yellow. Young: Similar to adult female, but 



tinged with buffy-brownish above, the lighter wing- 

 markings buffy, and tlie under parts a paler and duller, 

 or more buffy, yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : In small trees or bushes ; 

 a counterpart of the American Goldfinch's, but, like the 

 eggs, smaller. EG(iS : 4 or 5, pale bluish-green. 



Distribution. — Western United States, from coast of 

 California to eastern base of Rocky Mountains ; north 

 to northern California, southern Idaho, Utah, and Colo- 

 rado ; south, in winter at least, to southern Lower 

 California and southern New Mexico and Arizona; 

 breeding south to San Pedro Martir Mountains, north- 

 ern Lower California. 



There is a very near relative of the Gold- 

 finch, residing exclusively in the western states ; 

 he is the Arkansas Goldfinch. He is a little 

 smaller than the mernbers of the more widely 

 distributed family. A friendly little fellow is 

 he, constantly found in gardens and along the 

 roadsides, sometimes busily feeding among the 

 weeds on the ground and again tossing his 

 song to the winds from the top of some tall 

 eucalyptus tree. 



This Goldfinch is a long time acquiring the full 

 adult plumage and first breeds in the immature 

 plumage. This fact led to a great deal of con- 



fusion, and the three stages of development 

 were each given a difTerent name until enough 

 specimens had been collected to prove that the 

 variations were due merely to age. 



A slightly variant form of the Arkansas Gold- 

 finch is known as the Green-backed Goldfinch 

 ( Astragalinux psaltria hcspcrophUus) and is 

 found in the southwestern United States and 

 northwestern Mexico from California and Lower 

 California to Utah, Arizona, and extreme sottth- 

 western New Mexico. 



The Arkansas Goldfinch feeds almost entirely 

 on weed seeds. 



PINE SISKIN 

 Spinus pinus (JVilson) 



A. O, U. Number ;,)3 Sec Cnh.r TLltc -8 



Other Names. — Pine Finch ; Pine Linnet ; American 

 Siskin ; Northern Canary Bird. 



General Description. — Length, 444 inches. Upper 

 parts, grayish : under parts, white : streaked above and 

 below with dusky. Bill, small, conical, and acute ; 

 wings, long and pointed ; tail, rather short and forked ; 

 legs, short. 



Color. — .^bove, grayish or brownish, conspicuously 

 streaked with dusky, the ground color of the rump 

 paler (whitish or light grayish) ; wings and tail, dusky 

 or dull blackish ; middle and greater wing-coverts, 

 tipped with whitish, and inner wing quills edged with 

 same: basal portion of wing feathers (especially 

 secondaries) and tail feathers, pale yellow, mostly 

 (often entirely) concealed ; under parts, dull white, 

 everywhere (except on abdomen and anal region) 

 streaked with dusky. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Usually located in a coni- 

 fer, from 2u to 30 feet up, well concealed; walls 

 roughly constructed of hemlock or other twigs and 

 inoss ; a saucer-shaped structure one-half foot across; 

 the interior, about two inches in diameter, is carefully 

 and thickly lined with plant down, fur, and hair. Eggs: 

 4 to 6. pale bluish or greenish white lightly spotted with 

 chestnut and some 'black. 



Distribution. — Northern coniferous forest districts 

 of North .'\merica, breeding south to Nova Scotia, New 

 Brunswick, parts of New England, lower Hudson val- 

 ley, mountains of Pennsylvania, and southward to high 

 mountains of North Carolina. Minnesota, etc., and on 

 the high western ranges quite to the southern boundary 

 of the United States; in winter, south to Gulf coast (in- 

 cluding Florida and Texas), valleys of California, etc., 

 and into Mexico ; casual or accidental in Cuba. 



