FIMXGILLID.K — THE KINrilES. 47«j 



Habits. Tliis s]HM*ies, now known to 1m» so common tliron«^]iout tin' •^rcatj-r 

 pcfition of Cuiironiia, was first dt'.scrilM'd l>y Mr. Cassiu in IHMK IM. Ilrcr- 

 niiiiin jittrrwiinls I'oinnl llicin verv alunuliint tiiroii'Miout the northern niininji 

 iv^'ions of (alitoiniji, lVt'(|iu'ntin^ tin* liillsidi'S (.overed with Innsli, the s<mm1s 

 and huds of wliich tiuy eat witli ^Mt'at avidity. Lati^r in thi> season lie found 

 them at San I>i»'j4o, in <piest of ^'lass-.sfeds on the levtd plains. They w«'ie 

 in large tloeks, and so closely packed that he shot thirteen at one discharge. 

 Their nests, he states, are huilt in the fork of a hush or stunted oak, and are 

 coniiHised of tint^ grasses, lined with hair and feathei*s. They contain f<»ur or 

 five i>ure white eggs. 



Mr. Kidgway only met with this (Joldtinch near the foot of the western 

 slope of the Sierra Nevada. 



Dr. Cooper met with a few of this s])ecies at Fort ^^ol^avo, on the Colonvdo, 

 Imt found them more numerous near the coast as far north as San Francisco, 

 at least, and also in the more northern mining regions, lie has seen them 

 ahout San Francisco in l)e( end»er, anil has no douht that they remain ail the 

 winter throughout the lower country. They seem to avoid the UKunitainous 

 regions, and have not l)een met with in Ore«j:on. 



Their hahits and their song are, in general resj>ects, similar to those of the 

 Goldfinch {C. trisfis), but their voice is nnich weaker, and is iiigher in its 

 pitch. Their nests, Dr. Cooper thinks, are plact'd, in ]»reh'rence, on the live- 

 oaks ; at least, he has never met with them in anv other situation. Thev are 

 built very iimch in the style of those of the (Joldtinch, but are nuich smaller, 

 the cavity measuring only an inch in depth and one and a half in breadth. 

 The eggs he describes as four or five in numl>er. ]>ure white, and measuring 

 .80 by .40 of an inch. He adds that they sometimes feed on the ground, on 

 grass-seeds, as well as on Ituds and seeds of various weeds and trees. They 

 were regarded by him as more of a sylvan sj>ecies than the (Joldfinch, and 

 not so fond of willows and other trees growing along streams and in wet 

 places. In the Coh)rddo Valley they feed on the seeds of the artemisia. He 

 did not notice any there after the middle of A]»ril. Kggs, in my own cabi- 

 net, from Monterey, identified by Dr. Canfiehl, are of a uniform greenish- 

 white, exactly similar to those of C. paa/fria and frisfis, and measure only 

 .58 by .45 of an inch, or less in length by .22 than as given by Dr Cooper. 



Three nests of this s])ecies obtained at ^Fonti'rey, Cab, by Dr. (.'anfiehl, all 

 exhibit more or less variations as to material and style of make. They are 

 all more or less felted, and lx»autifully wnnight, fnlly equal in artistic skill to 

 the nests of the (roldfinch. They are about one and a half inches in height 

 and three in diameter, and the cavity is an inch in de])th and one and three 

 quarters in diameter The walls of these nests are soft, warm, and thick, 

 comjx>sed of wool, lK)th yegetable and animal, tine stems of grasses, down, 

 feathers, and other materials, all clo.sely matted togetber, and lined with 

 the long hair of the larger animals. One of these nests is made up entirely 

 of the liner grasses, strongly matted together. 



