426 HISTORY OF THE 



and tertiaries, inner margins of tail feathers, upper and under tail coverts, and 

 tibia, white. Female: Yellowish gray above; greenish yellow below. No black 

 on forehead. Wing and tail much as in the male. Young: Reddish olive above; 

 fulvous yellow below; two broad bands across Coverts, and broad edges to last 

 half of secondaries, pale rufous. 



"In winter the yellow is replaced by yellowish brown; the black of the crown 

 wanting; that of wings and tail brown. The throat is generally yellowish; the 

 under parts ashy brown, passing behind into white." 



. Stretch of 

 Length. -wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 5.10 8.85 2.85 2.00 .50 .40 



Female... 4.95 8.70 2.80 1.90 .50 .38 



Iris dark brown; bill, terminal half of ridge dusky, rest straw 

 color; legs and feet light brown; claws a shade darker. 



These hardy, gregarious, social birds are largely residents 

 within their northern homes, moving southward as the deep 

 snow covers their main supply of food, rather than from choice 

 or habit, nesting from southern California, southern Kansas and 

 Kentucky, northward; south, I think only a winter sojourner, 

 except, perhaps, in mountainous districts. 



Their gentle ways, bright colors, sweet song, and undulating, 

 chirruping flight readily attract attention, and assure them, as 

 a rule, a welcome, though they are not always in good standing 

 with the gardener, who objects to their taking at the harvest a 

 small share of the ripened seeds. For this, they more than 

 repay by the destruction of the seeds of the many weeds and 

 injurious plants, upon which they largely feed throughout the 

 winter months. The thistle is a favorite, and they are also very 

 fond of the seeds from the cones of the hemlock, etc., and of 

 the button balls of the sycamore trees. They are easily tamed, 

 and their low, warbling song, that at times swells up quite 

 loudly, much like the Canary, makes them a favorite cage bird. 



Their nests are placed in the branches of trees and bushes, 

 generally on apple or small elm trees, from six to twelve feet 

 from the ground. They are constructed of and firmly attached 

 to the limbs on which they rest, with fine hemp-like strippings 

 from plants and bits of cottony substances, and lined with hairs, 

 and now and then a feather. Eggs four to six, .65x.50; pale 

 bluish white; when fresh and unblown, with a rosy hue; in 

 form, oval. 



