FlilNGILLIDJE : FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 



355 



flesh-colored. In September, the black cap disappears; the general plumage changes to a 



pale tiaxen-brown above and vvhitey-browu below, with traces of the yellow, especially 



about the head ; wings and tail much as in summer ; sexes then much alike : this con- 



tluues until the following April or May. Length 4.80-5.20; extent 8.75-9.25; wing 2.75; 



tail 2.00; 9 olivaceous above, including the crown; boh i\v soiled yellowish, wings and tail 



dusky, whitish-edged; rather smaller than the ^. 



Young like the winter 9 ; when very young, suf- 



fut:cd with fulvous, and the wings edged with tawny. 



N. Am., especially the 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 



the seeds of the thistle and buttonwood ; flies in 



an undulating course. Nest small, compact, built 



of downy and other soft pliant substances, placed 



in a crotch ; eggs 4-6, faintly bluish-white, nor- p.^ 220. — Lawrence'i 



lually unmarked, 0.65 X 0.50. (Altered from Audubon.) 



A. lawren'cii. (To G. N. Lawrence, of New York. Fig. 220.) Lawrence's Goldfinch. 



(J, in summer : Gray, more or less tinged with yellowish, whiteaing on the belly and crissum : 



rump, a large breast-patch, and much of the back 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 the inner webs and whitish edging of the outer ; bill 



and feet flesh-color more or less obscured. The 9 resembles the ^, but there is no black on 



the head, and the yellow places are not so bright ; yellow of the back often .wanting. ^ 9 7"! 



winter : The yellowish of the upper parts changed to olive-gray, but the yellow of other parts 



often as bright as in summer, and the black of the (J's head the same. Size of tristis, or 



rather less ; an elegant species. California, Arizona, and New Mexico. General habits the 



same as those of C. tristis; nest and eggs indistinguishable. 



Goldfinch, reduced. 



•f\-t. A. psal'tria. (Gr. yl/aXrpia, pscdtria, a lutist. 



Arkansaw Goldfinch, reduced. 



Fig. 221.) Arkansaw Goldfinch. (J, adult: 

 Upper parts uniform olive-green, without any 

 black ; below yellow ; crown black, this not 

 extending below eyes; wings black, most of 

 the quills and the greater coverts white-tipped, 

 and the primaries white at base ; tail black, 

 the outermost three pairs of feathers with a 

 long rectangular white spot on the inner web. 

 9 and young similar, but not so bright, and 

 no black on the head ; sometimes, also, no 

 decided white spots on the tail. Length 4.25- 

 4.50 ; wing 2.80 ; tail 2.00. Plains to the 

 Pacific, U. S., southerly; N. at least to the 

 head-waters of the Platte. A pretty species, 

 nest and eggs the same. Southward this fonn 



of the same habits as the common Goldfinch 



jjasscs directly into 



A. p. arizo'nae. (Lat., of Arizona.) Arizona Goldfinch 



and blnck in about equal amounts; thus leading directly into 



A. p. mexica'nus. (Lat. Mexican. Fig. 222.) Mexican Goldfinch. The upper parts con- 



The upper parts mixed olive 



