BUILLFINCH AND GROSBEAK. 



Ill 



small numbers, in company with C. californicun, and at 

 times feeds an buds of tre«s, and seeds of tlie cotton- 

 ■wood and other plants. 



"It is principally abundant ab<vut ranches and 

 gardens, where it does much mischief by desti-oying 

 seeds and young plants, fruit, etc., for which d<*preda- 

 ■tiona even its diecrful and coiustiuit isoaig dues not coon- 

 pensate, and tlio angrj' giu-dener wages unrelenting war 

 :against the race. 



" At San Dit»go they build as early as the 15th of 

 March, or perlvaps even earlier. Tlie situation and 

 "materials of their nesl are exceedingly variable. I have 

 found them in trees, on logs and rocks, tlue top rail of 

 ■a picket-fence, inside a window-ishutteir, in the holes of 

 \valls, under tile or thatch roofs, in h.iystacks and 

 liariis, in the int<MStices het.ween the sticks of a Hawk's 

 nest, and in an old nc.tt of the Oriole. About houses 

 they always seek the protection of man, as if quite 

 unconscious of having mnde him their enemy. Heer- 

 mann me.ntions also, a,s locations of nests, the thorny 

 cactus and deserted Woo<lpecker's holes. The m;iterials 

 are usually coarse grass or weeds, with a lining of hair 

 and fine roots. The eggs, from four to six, are. bluish- 

 white, with spots and lines of black, chiefly towaads 

 the larger end. niey measure 0.78 by 0.56 inch. 



"The songs of this species differ very much from those 

 of {he others. They are very lively and varied, though 

 short-, and are heard throughout the year. Cage-birds, 

 usually called ' California Linnets,' are easily kept and 

 frequently to be seen, but generally their pui-ple changes 

 to yellow after long confinecnient. 



"They raise two, if not three, broods annually. These 

 assemble in large flocks in autumn, but migrate very 

 little if anv to the -south. 



" The House-Finch of California is represented in 

 Mexico by a closely^allied species, if not a mere variety." 

 Ridgway says (" Birds of North and Middle America," 

 "Vol. I., p. 124): — ^"The habits of C. mexicanus are 

 exceedingly different from those of C. purpvrevx and 

 C. cassinii, resembling very closely those of the House 

 Sparrow {Passer domesticus) in nearly every respect." 

 This species has appeared more than once at the 

 London Zoological Gardens, but Dr. Russ appears to 

 have overlooked that fact. 



I do not thdnk there would be any advantage in includ- 

 ing the White-winged Crossbill of N. America in this 

 revuew of imported cage-birds, since not only is it 

 regarded bv Dr. Sharpe as a mere sub-species of the 

 European Loxia bifascinln, but under the present strin- 

 sent laws enforced in the United States it is bv no 

 means likely to become well known here as a cage-bird. 

 It has been exhibited in our Gardens. 



Japanese Bullfinch iPtfrrhiila griseivotlris). 



Very like the European Bullfinch, exceptiing that the 

 breast, abdomen, and flanks are grey, sometimes with a 

 rosy tinge, instead of bright salmon-red. The female 

 above is chocolate-brown, with black crown and white 

 rump, below chocolate brown, whitish on lower abdo- 

 men and vent and white on under tadl-coverts. Habitat, 

 Japan, the island of Askold. Pekin. the valley of the 

 Ussuri, and an island in the Bay of Okhotsk. 



Seebohm gives no information respecting the habits 

 of this Bullfinch lin his " Birds of the Japanese Empire." 

 It was exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens in 

 1903, when three specimens were obtained. 



Pine Grosbe.^k {Pinicola enurlcator). 



Rosy vinaceous, with bluish ashy bases to the feathers ; 

 feathers of the iipper parts mottled with dusky, which 

 increases on the ba<'k until it forms large subterminal 

 triangular brown patches, the vinous colouring being 



then limited to the end of each feather; rump clear 

 vinous-rose, almost immaculate, but upper tail-coverts 

 more like the feathers of the back ; wing and tail feathers 

 d.ark brown, outermost lesser, and median coverts 

 bro;idly tipped with pinky white ; greater coverts and 

 inner secondaries broadly tippetl ami partly bordered 

 externally with white ; remaining flights and tadl-feathers 

 with narrow paler edges, whitish on distal fringe; sides 

 of heiid vinous rose-colour; the lores and orbital region 

 dusky greyish ; under parts dull vinous, the feathers 

 grey at base and with dusky V-shaped subterminal 

 markings; hinder breast and abdomen (excepting the 

 centre and flanks) washed with bright rosy-vinaceous ; 

 remainder of body below ashy grey ; under parts of wiing 

 and tail dusky greyish ; front of wing narrowly barred 

 with pink and dusky; under wing-coverts and axillaries 

 whitish ash; teak and feet black ; irides hazel. Female 

 with all the vinaceous and rose-colour replaced by 

 cupreous bronze, mo.-e ec>pj».Ty on the crown, slightly 

 olive-tinted on the back and more golden on the rump 

 and upper tail-coverts ; hardly a trace of the mottling 

 and tri.mgulai- marking of the cock bird ; imder ]xirt.s 

 of a piilcr and less bluish ash-colour. Habitat, Northern 

 Europe and America. 



A few examples of the Old World type of this species 

 hiive been obtained in the Briti.sh Islands, but it js 

 more than likely that they were all escap.d or liberated 

 birds, since the firs-t moult m captivity replaces all the 

 charming rosy-vinaceous colouring of the cock by a dull 

 brassy butiish yellow. 



The following I quote from on article, illustrated by a 

 beautiful ooloiu-ed plate of both sexes, which I publish-'! 

 in the AviniUiiral Mayazine, 1st ser.. Vol. III., 1896, 

 pp, 1.5: — "The nest of tha Pine Grosbeak is usually 

 placed on a thick branch of spruce-fir, or birch, close to 

 the main stem and at a distance of from ten to 

 twelve feet from the ground ; it is somewhat like a large 

 edition of that of the Bullfinch, the outer framework 

 consisting of slender twigs of fir and the inside of fine 

 grass bents, roots, and hair-lichen. The eggs number 

 from three to four, of a pale turquoise blue colour, with 

 deep pui-plish-brown oir blackish spots, and greyer brown 

 shell-spots ; they vary much in the same manner as '.ggs 

 of the Bullfinch. 



" During the winter months this ppecies is gregarious 

 in its liabits. and is so t.ame that it is easily caught or 

 shot, but in the summer the fl<Kks bieak up for breedin.r 

 purposes .and the birds are then somewhat more shy, 

 though never so much as our Bullfinch. 



" The song in the wild bird is said to be very melodiooiB 

 and flute-like, the flight powerful and undulating It is a 

 true biixl of the woods and a somewhat late breeder ; it 

 feed"' on seeds of conifers, berries, and buds, as well as 

 in.'-ects and their larv^. and earthworms. 



" About July 20th I received a letter from Mr. James 

 H. Fleming, of Ontario, in whicn he infoniied me that 

 he was sendirg off a box containing six Pine Grosbeaks 

 and a PHrj>le Finch, under tlie care of Mr. J. B. Wil- 

 liams (Curator of the Montreal Natural History Society). 

 I received this kind present on July 23rd ; all the biivls 

 reaching me alive, though very dirty and a gcmd deal the 

 wr rse for quarrelling during their fortnight of close con- 

 finement. 



" I turned the Pine Grosbeaks out into my g.arden 

 aviarj-.* giving them a seed-mi.xture. consisting of sun- 

 flower, hemp. oats, canary and millet. I found that they 

 ate these seeds in the order given above, beginning with 

 tU« sunflower; they did' not seem to care about the 



* I only had one at that time, fund it vtkB much smaller than 

 it now is. 



