LAE PORPE E. FINCH. 23 
them of committing great depredations on the blossoms of their fruit- 
trees. I never observed this in Louisiana, where they remain long af- 
ter the peach and pear trees are in full bloom. I have eaten many of 
them, and consider their flesh equal to that of any other small bird, ex- 
cepting the Rice Bunting. 
“This species was seen by Dr. Richardson on the banks of the 
Saskatchewan River only, where it feeds on willow buds. It arrives 
there in May, and resides during the summer. The eggs have been 
procured in the State of Massachusetts by my friend Dr. T. M. Brewer. 
They measure seven-eighths and a quarter in length, four-eighths and a 
half in breadth, and are thus of an elongated form, rather pointed. 
Their ground color is a bright emerald-green, sparingly marked with 
dots and a few streaks of black, accumulated near the apex, and some 
large marks of dull purple here and there over the whole surface. 
% * * * * * * %* * * * 
“TI have found this species from Labrador to Texas. Mr. Nuttall 
and Mr. Townsend met with it on the Columbia River, and all the way 
to St. Louis. In South Carolina, where it appears only during severe 
winters, it feeds on the berries of the Virginia juniper, commonly called 
the red cedar; and when the berries fall to the ground, it alights and 
secures them. Dr. Been has kept it in aviaries, where it became very 
fat, silent, and only uttered its usual simple feeble note. After moulting, 
the males assumed the plumage of the females. The next spring a very 
slight appearance of red was seen, but they never recovered their original 
brilliancy, and it was difficult to distinguish the sexes. It breeds sparingly 
in the northern parts of the State of New York. In June 1837, I met 
three pairs, within a few miles of Waterford, that evidently had nests in 
the neighborhood.” 
