SOMERSET HILLS 43 



a plain olive green, like the costume of 

 his mate. His note is a Pe-che-che-che! 

 and his flight is swift and undulating. 



The so-called Purple Finch (Plate 6, 

 p. 47) is not purple at all, but a shade 

 of pink. He is a permanent resident 

 with us. The female is striped with 

 brown, like the Sparrows, but may be 

 told from them by her thicker bill and 

 heavier streaks. The Purple Finches 

 are seed-eaters, feeding to a great extent 

 on the seeds of the ash, and on the 

 berries of the cedar. 



Catbird and Brown Thrasher 



These birds (Plate 10, p. 83) are 

 closely related to the small Wren. The 

 Catbird is the nearest Northern rep- 

 resentative of the well-known Mocking- 

 bird, for although the latter occasionally 

 strays as far north as New England, it 

 cannot be counted as a northern bird. 



