480 LAND BIRDS 
season. The call-note is a chirp not unlike that of the 
English sparrow, but somewhat softer. 
518. CASSIN PURPLE FINCH. — Carpodacus Fania 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, ete. 
Length: 6.50-6.95. 
Adult Male: Upper parts pinkish brown, clearly streaked with dark 
brown ; top of head bright crimson; rump subdued rose-pink ; throat 
and breast pale rose-pink ; belly white; sides tinged with pinkish ; 
lower tail-coverts conspicuously streaked with dusky ; wing-feathers 
edged with reddish. 
Adult Female: Upper parts olive-gray; under parts white ; entire plu- 
mage conspicuously streaked with dusky. 
Young: Similar to adult female, but streaks on lower parts narrower and 
less conspicuous, and wing-edgings more tawny buff. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States, north to British 
Columbia, east to Rocky Mountains, south to Mexico. 
California Breeding Range: Lower Boreal zone from Mt. Shasta to Los 
Angeles County ; also Inyo Mountains and White Mountains. 
Breeding Season: May and June. 
Nest: Flat and thin; composed mostly of rootlets and grasses; lined 
with moss and cotton ; placed near the tops of young pines, on hori- 
zontal branches, 
Eggs: 2 to 4; light bluish green, dotted around the larger end with 
slate, lilac, and dark brown. Size 0.84 * 0.62. 
FLocks of Cassin Purple Finches are met with along 
the entire high Sierra Nevada from Mount Shasta south- 
ward. The winter storms only drive them a little lower 
down to the shelter of the brush, or in severe seasons 
to the foot-hills ; but even then it is not uncommon to 
find a small flock huddled under a fallen tree for shelter 
and trying to brave it out in the snow. With the re- 
turning spring the flocks go back to their pine-covered 
haunts in the higher altitudes. 
