388 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



the females more or less even after the young are hatched, but 

 rarely if ever do they feed the young birds, this as well as 

 incubation being done almost exclusively by the mother. In- 

 cubation generally requires twelve to fourteen days (only 

 eleven days in a case observed by Mr. A. H. Norton) and the 

 young leave the nest in from fifteen to sixteen days more. 



The young are fed with a peculiar pecking, spitting motion, 

 the mother raising semi-digested food from her interior and 

 depositing it in their mouths, this being accompanied by 

 clamorous calls when the young have gained sufficient strength 

 to make a sound. As the young get older the rim of the nest 

 becomes lined with a fringe of excrement, which is rather 

 exceptional, for most birds carry away the ejecta of their 

 young and drop it where it will not be offensive. This same 

 fouling of the nest I found very characteristic of the Arkansas 

 and Lawrence's Goldfinches in the west. The nesting season 

 is late, usually from the middle of July through August. 



The food consists of seed of various plants and weeds, espec- 

 ially such composites as Canada thistle, bull thistle, various 

 wild sunflowers, golden-rod, aster and other weed seeds. 



Genus SPINUS Koch. 



5SS. Sp'mus pimis (Wils.). Pine Siskin; Pine Linnet; 

 Pine Finch; American Siskin. 



Plumage of adults : above streaked with dusky or blackish, the feathers 

 margined with buffy ; wings fuscous, most of the feathers margined with 

 yellow and yellow at base forming a yellow band on wing ; tail fuscous, the 

 feathers mostly yellow basally, very slightly indeed tipped or edged with 

 whitish; many of the primaries very slightly tipped with whitish; below 

 white or whitish, locally tinged with buffy and heavily streaked with dusky 

 or blackish. The females are usually paler and less heavily streaked than 

 the males. Immature plumage: more yellowish below and suffused with 

 fulvous above. Tuft of bristle-like feathers over nostrils and bill sharp and 

 pointed in all plumages. Wing 2.80 ; culmen 0.42. 



Geog. Dist. — North America, breeding from the northern tier of states, 

 southward in the Rocky Mountains and northward through the British Prov- 

 inces ; in winter irregularly southward to the Gulf States. 



