THE GOLDFINCH. 



CCORDIXG to one intelligent 

 observer, the Finches are, in 

 Nature's economy, entrusted 

 with the task of keeping 

 the weeds in subjection, 

 and the gay and elegant little Gold- 

 finch is probably one of the most use- 

 ful, for its food is found to consist, for 

 the greater part, of seeds most hurtful 

 to the works of man. " The charlock 

 that so often chokes his cereal crops is 

 partly kept in bounds by his vigilance, 

 and the dock, whose rank vegetation 

 would, if allowed to cast all its seeds, 

 spread barrenness around, is also one of 

 his store houses, and the rank grasses, 

 at their seeding time, are his chief 

 support." Another writer, whose 

 study of this bird has been made with 

 care, calls our American Goldfinch one 

 of the loveliest of birds. With his 

 elegant plumage, his rythmical, un- 

 dulatory flight, his beautiful song, and 

 his more beautiful soul, he ought to be 

 one of the best beloved, if not one of 

 the most famous ; but he has never yet 

 had half his deserts. He is like the 

 Chickadee, and yet different. He is not 

 so extremely confiding, nor should I call 

 him merry. But he is always cheerful, 

 in spite of his so-called plaintive 

 note, from which he gets one of his 

 names, and always amiable. So far as 

 I know, he never utters a harsh sound; 

 even the young ones asking for food, 

 use only smooth, musical tones. Dur- 

 the pairing season, his delight often 

 becomes rapturous. To see him then, 

 hovering and singing, — or, better still, 

 to see the devoted pair hovering 

 together, billing and singing, — is 

 enough to do even a cynic good. The 

 happy lovers ! They have never read 

 it in a book, but it is written on their 

 hearts. 



" The gentle law that each should be 

 The other's heaveii and harmony." 



In building his nest, the Goldfinch 

 uses much ingenuity, lichens and moss 

 being woven so deeply into the walls 

 that the whole surface is quite smooth. 

 Instead of choosing the forks of a 

 bough, this Finch likes to make its 

 nest near the end of a horizontal 

 branch, so that it moves about and 

 dances up and down as the branch is 

 swayed by the wind. It might be 

 thought that the eggs would be shaken 

 out by a tolerably sharp breeze, and 

 such would indeed be the case, were 

 they not kept in their place by the 

 form of the nest. On examination, it 

 will be seen to have the edge thickened 

 and slightly turned inward, so that 

 when the nest is tilted on one side by 

 the swaying of the bough, the eggs 

 are still retained within. It is lined 

 with vegetable down, and on this soft 

 bed repose five pretty eggs, white, 

 tinged with blue, and diversified with 

 small grayish purple spots. 



A curious story is told of a caged 

 Goldfinch, which in pleasant weather 

 always hung in a window. One day, 

 hearing strange bird voices, the owner 

 looked up from her seat and saw a 

 Catbird trying to induce the Finch to 

 eat a worm it had brought for it. By 

 dint of coaxing and feeding the wild 

 bird, she finally induced it to come 

 often to the window, and one day, 

 as she sat on the porch, the Cat- 

 bird brought a berry and tried to 

 put it into her mouth. We have often 

 seen sparrows come to the window of 

 rooms where canaries were imprisoned, 

 but it has uniformly been to get food 

 and not to administer it. The Catbird 

 certainly thus expressed its gratitude. 



130 



