226 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



Adult female. Similar to winter male but duller ; sometimes more yellow 

 below. 



Young in first summer. Cinnamon-brown above and on sides and flanks ; rest 

 of under surface, yellow ; wing bars and tips, pale cinnamon. 



Nest of grass and other vegetable fibers thickly lined with thistle-down, placed 

 usually -in an upright fork of a tree, ten to twenty feet up; eggs, three to six, 

 plain bluish-white, .65 x .50. 



Common resident. 



In summer the Goldfinch is a familiar denizen of the gardens and 

 orchards. The bright yellow and black plumage, the canary-like call, 

 and the undulating flight, calling as he flies "per-chic-o-ree, per-chic- 

 o-ree," as Chapman writes it, all aid to fix the Goldfinch or Salad 

 Bird in the mind of even the most casual observer. 



In autumn and winter Goldfinches gather in flocks, and course 

 through the fields and along the fence rows, descending on the patches 

 of thistles and other weeds that offer a repast of seeds, and then dash 

 away all together as one approaches. At this season they are in 

 their sombre winter garb, but the undulating flight and canary call 

 note still remain unmistakable. 



In September and April they may be seen in the mottled molting 

 plumage, presenting all sorts of curious combinations of brown and 

 yellow. 



533 Spinus pinus (Wilson). 

 Pine Siskin, Pine Finch. 



Adults. Length, 4.50-5.25. Wing, 2.75. Above, grayish-brown, heavily 

 streaked with blackish ; wings with two narrow lighter bars, and a pale yellow 

 band across the base of the primaries very conspicuous in flight ; under surface, 

 white, heavily streaked with dusky and tinged with buff on the breast and flanks. 



Young in first summer. Similar, pale yellow below. 



Winter visitant; irregular in its abundance. Arrives October 15th, 

 departs April 25th. Sometimes seen as late as May 17th. 



The Pine Siskin resembles the Goldfinch in habits, but is always to 

 be distinguished by its striped plumage and the yellow patch on the 

 expanded wing. It is most frequent about alder thickets or feeding 

 about the cones of evergreens. 



