It> BaitOTOLD, \ Study <>f ,' ; .v HOMW Finch. [j»n. 



(hat it is \ <M-y reasonable to assume that there are ten House 

 Pinches to each platted block within the city, which would give m 

 total of 130,000 Pinches, there being 13,000 platted blocks in the 

 city, 3500 of which are built on; this estimate of 130,000 House 

 Pinches for the city of Denver is probably far below tin' actual 

 number 



Song, 



Both sexes sing, though the female's attempts are modest and 

 rather infrequent, That the females sing is indisputable since 

 nesting females have been noticed singing, an observation which 

 precludes mistaking an immature male's singing, for a female's 

 attempt at song, The female's is. however, a weak imitation of 

 the male's vigorous and sweet song, which is host ami richest, as 

 with other song birds, during the breeding season, yet there is no 

 month of the year when this song is not hoard During the cold 

 months the birds are comparatively silent but they frequently 



burst into sonc on bright sunny winter days, which, with US in 



Colorado, are very common, The association between these clear 

 bright mild w inter days and the singing oi the Pinches is too obvious 



to be overlooked. The SOng is poured forth in volumes while the 

 bird is on the wine, and also when at rest, and reminds one in 

 parts, oi that of the Tine Finch. From the middle oi January 



onward, the singing increases with the lengthening days, hushed 



now and again by extreme cold, and this generous song makes the 

 bird a delight and a joy. one to be harbored and protected. 



By attracting the birds to one's windows, one comes so closely in 

 touch with them that opportunities for detailed study are unsur- 

 passed, while the bird's abundance and fearlessness give one the 

 most intimate acquaintance possible, Furthermore, the varied calls 

 and notes of both sexes are of exceeding interest, heard to great 



advantage in this way through their propinquity. There is a dis- 

 tinct and recognisable difference in the alarm note over the sight of 



a doc or a cat if it be near the drinking place, and the alarm when 

 one examines the nest. The writer has learned to know when the 

 young are ready to leave the nest by the peculiar coaxing notes of 

 the old bird-- During nest building, the male often feeds his busy 



