FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 287 



Their flight is expressive of their joyous nature, and as they bound 

 through the air they hum a gay 



" ,V- -" ^ ■•• 



Their love song is delivered with an ecstasy and abandon which car- 

 ries them oil their feet, and they circle over the fields sowing the air 

 with music. The song has a canarylike character, and while it is less 

 varied it possesses a wild, ringing quality wanting in the cage-bound 

 bird's best efforts. 



The Black-headed Goldfinch (533. Spinus notatus)^ a Mexican species, 

 is recorded by Audubon from Kentucky, where its occurrence is, of course, 

 purely accidental. 



533. Spinus pinus {Wils.). Pine Siskin; Pine Finch. ^^.— Bill 



sharply pointed, a small tuft of bristly feathers over the nostrils ; upper parts 

 streaked with black, the feathers margined with butty ; wings fuscous, most 

 of the feathers margined with yellow, and yellow at the- base ; tail fuscous, 

 all but the middle feathers yellow at the base ; under parts white, tinged with 

 buffy and heavily streaked with black. L., 5-00; W., 2-76; T., 1-90; B., -40. 



Jiemarlcs. — The yellow markings in the wings and tail of this species will 

 always serve to distinguish it. 



Range. — -JSforth America generally; breeds mostly north of the United 

 States ; winters as far south as the Gulf. 



, Washington, irregularly abundant W. V., Oct. to Apl. Sing Sing, irregu- 

 lar P. E. Cambridge, irregular W. V., Sept. to May ; sometimes very abun- 

 dant. 



Nest^i of twigs and rootlets, lined with plant down and long hairs, in conif- 

 erous trees. Eggs., four, pale bluish white, thinly spotted with reddish brown, 

 •67 X -46. 



Like the American Crossbill, this bird is rather erratic in its move- 

 ments, and its presence or absence at any season can never be predicted 

 with certainty. It resembles the American Goldfinch in habits, but is 

 more often found about coniferous trees, and its notes and song are 

 less musical. It has been found nesting in May at Sing Sing, N. Y. 

 (Fisher), and at Cornwall-on-Hudson (Allen). 



Carduelis carduelis (Linn.). European Goldfinch. • Ad. — Region 

 about the base of the bill bright red ; crown, and a stripe extending from it 

 on to the sides of the neck, black; back cinnamon-brown; wings black, 

 crossed by a broad yellow band ; tail black, the inner webs of the feathers 

 tipped with white ; under parts white, the sides tinged with the color of the 

 back. L., 5-50 ; W., 3-00 ; T., 2-95 ; B., -50. 



