92 THE CASSIN PURPLE F%CH. 



No. 33. 

 CASSIN'S PLRlM.r: IINCIi. 



A. < ). I'. X(>. 51S. Carpodac'iis cnssinii I'-aiid. 



Synonym. — Cassis's I-'ini 11. 



Description. — .\dult male: Crown iliill crimson; hack and scapulars vinace- 

 ous nii.\t.'(l witli hrownisli and sliarply streaked willi ilnsky : winjjs and tail dusky 

 with more or less eilfjiiifj of vinaceous; remainiii),' plnniage chiefly dull rosy, 

 jiassinj,' into white on hellv and crissnin : under tail-coverts white streake<l with 

 dusky. Adull fniuilc: Everywhere (save on win},'s, tail and lower abdomen) 

 sharply streaked with dusky, clearly, on a white groiuid, below; alxjve on an olive- 

 gray or olive-buffy ground. Immature male: Like female in plumage and in<lis- 

 tinguishable. Length of adult 6.50-7.00 ( 165.1 -177.8) ; wing 3.62 (y2) ; tail 2.56 

 (65 ) ; bill .50 ( 12.6) ; tarsus .73 ( 18.5). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size: red of crown contrastiiuj with back dis- 

 tinctive as compared with (". />. califoniiciis : general streakiness of female (and 

 male in nmre common plumage). 



Nesting. — Xest: of twigs and rootlets lined with horse-hair, string, etc., 

 placed in ])ine or fir tree well out from trunk. Ilg<is: 4 or 5, colored as in succee<l- 

 ing species; a little larger. Av. size .85 x .60 (2i.6x 15.2). Season: June; one 

 or two broods according to altitude. 



General Ranj^e. — Western L'nited States from the eastern base of the Rocky 

 Mountains west to (but not including?! the Pacific coast district; north to I'ritish 

 Columbia: south over plateau region of Mexico; found chiefly in the mountains. 



Range in Washington. — .\t least coextensive with |)ine timber in eastern 

 Washington; found to summit of Cascades but westerly range imperfectly made 

 out. 



Authorities. — ("Cassin"s I'urjile I'iiH-li." Johnson, Rej). ("lov. W. T. 1884 

 ( 1885 I, 22. \ Carpodacus cassiiii. Dawson, Auk. \'ol. XI\. i8<>7. p. 177. D'. J. 



Specimens. — I'rov. C. 



CASSl.X'S IM.XCII is tlie bird of the eastern Cascades and the timl)ered 

 fiKjtbills of northern Washington. While ranging higher than other finches, 

 it shares with them an inclination to urban life, and a full realization of the 

 advantages of gardens and cultivated patches. .\\ Stchekiii I saw a flock of 

 them gleaning crumbs as ciniiplaccntly as sparrows, in the yard at the rear 

 of the hotel. At Chelan they haunt the lonesome pine trees which still dot 

 the shores of the lake, seemingly regarding their gnarled recesses as citadels 

 where alone they may be safe from the terrors of the oiien country. 



.\s the bird-man lay sprawling in the grateful shadow of one of these 

 grim sentinels, munching a noonday lunch, and remonstrating with Providence 

 at the unguarded virtues of the all-crawling ant, he spied a last year's Oriole's 

 nest hanging just over his head, wliile an accomuKnlating Cassin Finch 



