THE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 



"Look, Mamma, look ! " cried 

 a little boy, as one day late in 

 June my mate and I alighted on 

 a thistle already going to seed. 

 " Such a lovely bird ! How 

 jolly he looks, with that black 

 velvet hat drawn over his eyes!" 



" That's a Goldfinch," replied 

 his mamma; '^ sometimes called 

 the Jolly Bird, the Thistle Bird, 

 the Wild Canary, and the Yellow 

 Bird. He belongs to the family 

 of \Yeed Warriors, and is very 

 useful." 



"He sings like a Canary," 

 said Bobbie. " Just hear him 

 talking to that little brown bird 

 alongside of him." 



That was my mate, you see, 

 who is rather plain looking, so 

 to please him I sang my best 

 song, " Per-cMc-o-ree^ per-ckic-o- 

 ree^ 



" That sounds a great deal 

 better," said Bobbie ; " because 

 it's not sung by a little prisoner 

 behind cage bars, I guess." 



" It certainly is wilder and 

 more joyous," said his mamma. 

 " He is very happy just now, for 

 he and his mate are preparing 

 for housekeeping. Later on, he 

 will shed his lemon-yellow coat, 

 and then you won't be able to 

 tell him from his mate and little 

 ones." 



"How they are gobbling up 

 that thistle-down," cried Bobbie. 

 "Just look!" 



" Yes," said his mamma, " the 

 fluff carries the seed, like a 

 sail to which the seed is 

 fastened. By eating the seed, 

 which otherwise would be car- 

 ried by the wind all over the 

 place, these birds do a great 

 amount of good. The down 

 they will use to line their 

 nests. 



" How I should like to peep 

 into their nest," said Bobbie ; 

 "just to peep, you know; not to 

 rob it of its eggs, as boys do 

 who are not well brought up." 



My mate and I were so pleased 

 at that, we flew off a little way, 

 chirping and chattering as we 

 went. 



" L^p and down, up and down," 

 said Bobbie; "how prettily they 



fly." 



" Yes," said his mamma; "that 

 is the way you can always tell a 

 Goldfinch when in the air. A 

 dip and a jerk, singing as he 

 flies." 



" AYhat other seeds do they 

 eat, mamma?" presently asked 

 Bobbie. 



"The seeds of the dandelion, 

 the sunflower, and wild grasses 

 generally. In the winter, when 

 these are not to be had, the poor 

 little fellows have a very hard 

 time. People with kind hearts, 

 scatter canary seed over their 

 lawns to the merry birds for their 

 summer songs, and for keeping 

 down the weeds. 



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