SONG-BIRDS. Purple Finch 



This is the most melodious of the Finches, who, perching 

 high in the elms on the lawn or in the birches by the river- 

 bank, pours out his gushing, liquid warble, while at the same 

 time he is completely hidden from sight. Long ago, being 

 told that a song which had delighted me belonged to the 

 Purple Finch, I tried to obtain a good view of him, expect- 

 ing to see a bird whose purple coat should match his regal 

 voice, but not at all. The first specimen that I caught 

 (with my field-glass), when in the act of singing, was dull 

 and Sparrow-like. Then followed the explanation that the 

 males take two seasons to perfect their plumage, and that 

 even then they are not purple, but merely washed locally 

 with a peculiar shade of red. 



I think many early ornithologists who were responsible 

 for the naming of our birds must have been either colour- 

 blind or possessed of very limited vocabularies, for a modern 

 reading of many of their colour terms means dismay and 

 total collapse to the unfortunate novice. Burroughs, with 

 his fine sense of perception and language combined, at once 

 locates this Finch. " His colour is peculiar," he says, " and 

 looks as if it might have been imparted by dipping a brown 

 bird in diluted poke-berry juice. Two or three more dip- 

 pings would have made the purple complete." 



In looking for this Finch, then, you must rely greatly 

 upon his song, remembering that he may or may not be red 

 coloured on the head and back, and that whether he is or 

 not, you will find it difficult to discover. 



The suddenness with which the Purple Finch bursts into 

 song renders him one of our most conspicuous songsters, 

 and recalls the notes of the English Chaffinch. May and 

 June are the months of his most perfect music, but the 

 birds who have wintered here begin to warble early in March, 

 and occasional subdued songs may be heard in October, so 

 that the season of melody is almost as long as that of the 

 Song Sparrow. 



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