WESTERN GOLDFINCH. 
530. Astragalinus psaltria. 4% inches. 
Cap, wings and tail black; sides of head and back 
greenish. Female much duller and with no black in the 
crown. These little Goldfinches are very abundant 
throughout the West. ‘Their flight is undulatory like 
that of the preceding, and all their habits are very sim- 
ilar. They spend the winter in bands, roving about the 
country, feeding on weed seeds; in summer they repair. 
either in small bands or by single pairs, to the edges 
of swamps or woodland near water, where they construct 
their compact homes in the forks of bushes. Their eggs 
are pale blue like those of the American Goldfinch, but 
of course are much smaller (.62 x .45). They are laid in 
May or June, or even earlier in the western portions of 
their range. 
Song.—Sweet and musical, almost like that of the 
last species. 
Range.—Western United States from the Plains to 
the Pacific, being abundant west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 
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