FRINGILLID.E: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS. 393 



(f olive or black above, or mixed with both ; yellow below ; wings aud tail black and white. Western. 



Back olive ; crown black, not below eyes ; large white tail-spots psaltria 



Back mixed olive and black ; crown black ; moderate white tail-spots p,,. arizonoe 



Back black ; crown black to below eyes ; small white tail-spots 



ps. mextcani, 



A. tris'tis. (Lat. tristis, sad ; from its note. Fig. 2.57.) American Goldfinch. Yellow- 

 bird. Thistle-bird. " Wild Canary." c?) iu sumnier: Rich yellow, changing to whit- 

 ish on tail-coverts ; a black patch on crown ; wings 

 black, more or less edged with white ; lesser wing- 

 coverts white or yellow; greater coverts tipped 

 with white ; tail black, every feather with a white 

 spot ; biU and feet flesh-colored. In September, 

 the black cap disappears; the general plumage 

 changes to a pale Haxen-brown above and whitey- 

 brown below, with traces of yellovp, especially 

 about head; wings aud tail much as in summer; 

 sexes then much alike : this continues until the 

 following April or May. Length 4.80-5.20; ex- 

 tent 8.75-9.25; wing 2.75; tail 2.00; 9 oliva- 

 ceous above, including crown; below soiled yel- Fig. 258. —Lawrence's Goldfinch, reduced. 

 h)Wish; wings and tail dusky, whitish-edged; tered from Audubon.) 



rather smaller than ^. Young like winter 9 i when very young, sufi'used with fulvous, and 

 wings edged with tawny. N. Am., especially Eastern U. S. ; an abundant and familiar species, 

 conspicuous by its bright colors, and plaintive lisping notes ; in the fall, collects in large flocks, 

 and so remains until the breeding season ; irregularly migratory, but winters as far north as 

 New England ; feeds especially on seeds of thistle and button-wood ; flies in an undulating 

 course. Nest small, compact, built of downy and other soft pliant substances, placed in a 

 crotcli of a low tree, bush, or tall weed; eggs 3-6, usually 4 or 5, faintly bluish-white, normally 

 unmarked, 0.65 X 0.50. 



A. t. pal'lidus. (Lat- pallidus, pale, pallid.) Western American Goldfinch. Like the 

 last ; paler ; the various white markings more extensive ; black cap larger. Rocky Mt. pla- 

 teau district, British Columbia and Manitoba to iMexico; a local race. Spinus tristis pallidus 

 MearnS; Auk, July, 1890, p. 244; see also Auk, July, 1887, p. 198; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 

 1895, p. 218, No. 529 a. Astragaliniis t. pallidus A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, 

 p. 115, No. 529 «. 



A. t. sali'camans. (Lat. salix, gen. salicis, willow ; amans, pres. partic. of amarc, to love.) 

 Willow Goldfinch. Like tristis; darker, with broader wiug-nuirkings. Pacific coast 

 form. Spinus tristis salicamans Grinnell, Auk, Oct. 1897, ji. 397. Astragalinus tristis 

 salicamans A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 115, No. 529 b. 



A. lawren'cei. (To G. N. Lawrence, of New York. Fig. 258.) Lawrence's Goldfinch. 

 California Canary. ^, in summer: Gray, more or less tinged with yellowish, whitening 

 on belly and crissum ; rump greenish-yellow; a large breast-patch rich yellow; crown, face, 

 and chin black ; wings black, variegated with yellow, most of the coverts being of this color, 

 and the same broadly edging the quills ; inner secondaries edged with hoary gray ; tail black, 

 most of the feathers with large square white spots on inner webs and whitish edging of outer; 

 bill and feet flesh-color more or less ol)scured. 9 resembles ^, but there is no black on 

 head, and the yellow places are not so bright ; yellow of back often wanting. (? 9 ? i" win- 

 ter : yellowish of upper parts changed to olive-gray, but yellow of other parts often as bright 

 as in summer, and black of (^'s head the same. Young birds like 9, l^"t may be somewhat 

 streaky. Size of tristis, or rather less ; an elegant species. California, Arizona, and New 



