"NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 355 



, + EUROPEAN BULLFINCH. 



517. PURPLE FINCH. Carpodacus purpureus (Gmel.) Geog. Dist. Eastern 

 North America. Breeds from northern United States northward. 



Called Purple Grosbeak, Crimson Finch or Linnet. It is found breeding regu- 

 larly in the northern tier of States the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc., 

 northward, and is said to have been found nesting in northern Illinois. An abundant 

 bird in New England, where its sweet song, bright colors and sociable disposition 

 have made it a favorite bird. It nests in May and June. The Rev. J. H. Langille 

 states that he has found it nowhere so abundant as in Nova Scotia. The nest is 

 usually placed in evergreens or orchard trees, at a moderate distance from the 

 ground. It is composed of weed-stalks, bark-strips, rootlets, grasses, all kinds of 

 vegetable fibres, and lined with hairs. The nests and eggs remind one of the Chip- 

 ping Sparrow's on a large scale. The eggs are of a dull green, spotted with a very 

 dark brown, chiefly about the greater end; four or five in number, and measure 

 .85x.65. 



517 a. CALIFORNIA PURPLE FINCH. Carpodacus purpureus calif ornicus 

 Baird. Geog. Dist. Pacific coast of the United States, from British Columbia south 

 to Southern California. 



The California Purple Finch is a common bird throughout its range. Mr. Wil- 

 liam A. Cooper notes it as abundant around Santa Cruz, California. He states that 

 it is a most destructive bird, visiting orchards and destroying young buds, blossoms, 

 and fruit. It retires to the wooded river bottoms and hills to breed; the favorite 

 situations for the nest are the tops of tall willows, alders, trees covered with climb- 

 ing ivy, and horizontal branches of redwoods. The nests are usually placed at a con- 

 siderable distance from the ground; one was found placed in the horizontal branches 

 of an apple tree; the composition of the nests consist of stems and vegetable fibres 

 for the frame- work, which is generally loosely put together; the inner portions are 

 of finer material of the same, lined with wbol or a few hairs. The eggs are four or 

 five in number; they are of a bluish-green or light emerald, marked with spots of 

 brown and dull purple, chiefly around the larger end; in some specimens they form 

 a confluent ring; others are spotted over the entire surface, but less abundantly 



