FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



311 



Fig. 396. Purple Finch. 



County Mr. Grinnell finds it a common winter visitant of the mesas and 

 lowlands, haunting thickets and brushy places in small companies. 



518. Carpodacus cassini Baird. CASSIN PURPLE FINCH. 



Adult male. Top of head with squarish patch of bright crimson ; rump 

 dull rose pink ; hack and scapulars dull pinkish brown, sharply streaked 

 with dark brown ; under parts pale pink fading to unstreaked white on 

 belly ; lower tail coverts usually conspicuously streaked with dusky ; wing 

 feathers edged with reddish ; tail much shorter than wing, deeply emar- 

 ginate. Adult female : whole body sharply streaked with dusky ; ground 

 color of upper parts olive gray ; of under parts white. Young : similar to 

 female, but streaks of lower parts narrower and wing edgings more ochra- 

 ceous. Male: length (skins) 5.39-6.29, wing 3.52-3.80, tail 2.34-2.71, bill 

 .47-51. Female : length (skins) 5.55-6.05, wing 3.42-3.60, bill .49-.50, 



