212 LAND BIRDS 
Young: Upper parts bright greenish yellow, tinged with brownish 
yellow ; feathers streaked, except on belly ; wing-bands and patches 
brown. 
Geographical Distribution : Northern Nerth America, west to the Pacific, 
south in winter to Gulf States and Mexico. 
California Breeding Range: In Boreal and Transition zones, along the 
Sierra Nevada forests, south through the San Bernardino mountains ; 
also in Santa Cruz mountains. 
Breeding Season: May and June. 
Nest : Usually a rather flat compact structure of fine twigs, pine needles, 
grasses, rootlets, and plant fibres ; lined with fine rootlets and hair ; 
placed generally in pine or cedar trees, from 20 to 35 feet from the 
ground. 
Eggs: 3 or 4; pale greenish blue, spotted with various shades of brown, 
especially at the larger end, Size 0.67 X 0.48. 
HiGu up in the mountains the tramper will find these ~ 
fascinating little birds flitting through the pines, flashing 
a glint of yellow from wings and tails as they dash from 
tree to tree. 
Wherever a pine cone offers its seeds, or a clump of 
weeds hangs full of brown pods, a banquet is spread for 
the Siskins. With a merry note, strikingly like the 
“ ner-chic-o-ree ” of the goldfinches, they settle down to 
the feast, only to rise and fly farther on as the whim 
seizes them. ‘The flight also is of the graceful, undulat- 
ing character, as the flight of the goldfinch, as if the 
birds were playing with the air rather than trying to go 
somewhere. Yet they can fly with speed and strength, 
and in the breeding season they indulge in dizzy aerial 
gymnastics, accompanied by their own merry music. 
Their song is a wheezy little tune in the ascending scale, 
—a kind of crescendo, — which sounds as if it were 
produced by inhalation rather than by exhalation, but so 
bubbling over with gladness as to be enchanting. 
