GOLDFINCH 



147 



its spread there for 

 another year. As 

 every one knows, the 

 ' thistle birds ' are 

 especially fond of 

 thistle seeds. They 

 also eat the seeds of 

 the common ' beg- 

 gar's tick ' which is 

 so troublesome in 

 bottom lands, and the 

 Iarva3 of the destruc- 

 tive wheat midge. 

 In summer the Gold- 

 finches feed their 

 young mainly on in- 

 sects, such as beetles, 

 plant lice, larvae, flies, and small grasshoppers. 



But though we owe them gratitude for material 

 benefits, in winter we think more of the good 

 cheer they bring us. On a cold November day, 

 when the bare trees are outlined against a gray 

 sky, the sudden calls of a flock of these little 

 Goldfinches will be like a burst of sunshine, 

 bringing back all the gladness of summer. But 

 with a tweety-tweety-tweety they start up and fly 

 on, the gray clouds settle back, and the rain 

 falls again on the black and dripping branches. 



FIG. 78. 

 Thistle, seeds eaten by Goldfinch. 



