28 LAND BIRDS 
Or 
530. ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH. — Astragalinus psaltria. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 
Length: 4.00-4.50. 
Adult Male: Upper parts olive-green ; crown, wings, and tail black, 
with inner webs of tail-feathers white ; under parts entirely deep 
lemon-yellow. 
Adult Female: Upper parts grayish olive-green ; under parts light 
greenish yellow ; wings and tail dull black. 
Young: Similar to female, but tinged with buffy, and wing-coverts 
tipped with buff. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States, north to Oregon, 
east as far as Utah and Colorado, south to Lower California, New 
Mexico, and Western Texas. In winter to Cape St. Lucas. 
California Breeding Range: Chiefly below Transition zone nearly 
through the State. 
Breeding Season: May to August. 
Nest: A small, compact felted mass of vegetable fibre, moss, grasses, 
leaves, and fine bark ; lined with plant down and sometimes with 
thistle-down ; placed in trees and bushes, from 3 to 40 feet from the 
ground. 
Eggs: 5 to 6; pale bluish or greenish white. Size 0.63 X 0.45. 
THe Arkansas Goldfinch differs from the “ willow ” 
chiefly in its habitat, being a bird of the orchard and 
garden as well as of the wooded highway. It is found 
in the mountains along the edges of clearings to a height 
of six thousand feet. In breeding habits it resembles 
the willow, commencing its nest when the thistle-down 
is at hand for lining and the seeds for food for the nest- 
lings. Except in the breeding season, it is found in small 
flocks, feeding upon the seeds of weeds or plants, and to a 
limited extent upon berries and haws. Along the edge 
of a country road in the fall, the weed tops blossom with 
these merry songsters, who fly up as you come near, only 
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