PERCHERS: FINCHES, CROSSBILLS, AND SPARROWS. 81 



and sings sweetly while on the wing, but its song is 

 short. The Skylark of Europe is almost as celebrated 

 for its song as the Nightingale. It often rises vertically 

 to a great height, and when rising or falling it sings its 

 varied and powerful song. 



FINCHES, CROSSBILLS, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, AND 

 GROSBEAKS. 



The Purple Finch is about as large as the Bluebird, 

 and of a beautiful crimson color; the female brown 

 above and white below streaked with brown. The nest 

 is built in a tree close to the ground, and the eggs are 

 four, of a rich green color. The Yellow Bird, or Amer- 



Fig. 134. Purple Finch. Fig. 135. White-winged Crossbill. 



ican Goldfinch, is of a beautiful yellow, the crown and 

 wings black, tail and wings marked with white. The 

 nest is very handsome, made of lichens, and fastened 

 to a twig ; eggs white, with a bluish tinge, and spotted 

 with brown at the larger end. 



Crossbills have the points of the bill much curved 

 and crossing each other. By means of this curious 

 instrument they can open the cones of pine and spruce 

 with great facility, and thus secure the seeds, upon 



4* F 



