Purple Finch SONG-BIRDS. 



see or hear of one. Twice I have noticed pairs keeping 

 together and apart from the flock. In January, 1893, when 

 the snow had been on the ground since November, two 

 pairs roosted nightly in a very thick honeysuckle. In the 

 day the birds spent their time between an arbor-vitaj hedge 

 and a group of pines. After an unusually severe snow 

 they became very hungry and descended to the ground for 

 food, and, while they refused to eat crumbs, relished some 

 cracked corn which had been soaked in boiling water until 

 it was partly softened. 



Aside from their striking size and colour, and the fact 

 that they come in winter, a season at which any bird is a wel- 

 come excitement, these Grosbeaks are not very interesting. 

 They have no playful ways, and here, at least, are silent to 

 the verge of stupidity. They feed upon various small seeds 

 and also upon tree buds, particularly those of the maple and 

 hickory. Berries are also eaten, if other food fails. 



Purple Finch : Carpodacus purpureus, 



Plate V. Fig. 15. 



Length : 5.75-6.25 inches. 



Male: Until two years old resembles a dull-coloured, heavy-billed 



sparrow ; when mature, the head, shoulders, and upper breast 



have a wash of raspberry-red, lower parts grayish white, wings 



and tail dusky with some reddish brown tips. Bill and feet 



brown. 

 Female : Olive-brown, clearer on rump, and streaked above and below 



with dusky brown. Whitish beneath, and streaked on sides of 



breast with arrow-shaped marks. 

 Song : Joyful and sudden, — " O, list to me, list to me, hear me, and 



I'll tell you, — you, you ! " 

 Season: March to November ; a common summer resident, individuals 



remaining sometimes all winter. 

 Breeds : From Middle States northward. 

 Nest : In a bush or tree, of grass and fibre, and lined with horsehair ; 



a flat nest. 

 Eggs: 4-5, greenish white, scratched and spotted with black and 



lilac. 

 Bange : Eastern North America, from the Atlantic coast to the 



Plains. 



134 



