THE WAY TO STUDY BIRDS 



Call: A nasal "Yank-yank," and a laughing 

 but still nasal "Ya-ha-ha-ha-ha" are its most 

 frequent calls. 



Seasonal Abundance : Equally frequent thru- 

 out the year. 



Remarks: The peculiarity of the Nuthatch 

 family is that they are our only birds which 

 climb, head forward, down tree-trunks. This 

 will often serve as a distinguishing character- 

 istic, for altho the Woodpeckers go downward 

 they back down, tail foremost. The Brown 

 Creeper and the Black and White Warbler do 

 not go down the trunk at all. 



n. GOLDFINCH 



Haunts : Fields and upland pastures. 



Description: Male: in summer, bright yellow 

 with black wings, tail and forehead, and white 

 in wings and tail. Female: yellowish-brown 

 above, blackish on wings and tail. Under 

 parts yellowish, white in wings and tail. Male 

 and female in winter similar to the female in 

 summer, but white in wings and tail almost 

 disappears. 



Size and Shape: Length, 5 inches. Thickly 

 built and with a short, thick bill. 



Song: A rather sweet chattering. Flight 

 note is a clearly accentuated " Per-chee-che- 

 chee," with the second syllable accented and 

 the whole phrase given on the rising wave of an 

 undulating flight. 



Seasonal Abundance: Breeds very late. 

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