APRIL BIRDS. 27 



On the afternoon of Easter Sunday, 

 while walking on West Street, I heard a 

 goldfinch in full song. The American 

 goldfinch (chrysomitris tristis), when in 

 full spring plumage, is one of the hand- 

 somest of our birds, with his bright yellow 

 body and jet black wings. This bird and 

 the yellow warbler are indiscriminately 

 called " yellow birds," though the name 

 seems -more appropriate to the warbler, 

 which is yellow all over. The goldfinch, 

 however, is much the finer singer, belong- 

 ing to the same family as the canary 

 and our own sweet singing -sparrows. 

 The song, twitter, and call-note of this 

 finch are wonderfully like the canary's, 

 and as a whole flock will often sing in cho- 

 rus, you may get some conception of the 

 effect of such a concert if you will imagine 

 fifty canaries thus engaged out of doors. 

 The goldfinch, like the purple finch, may 

 almost be called a city bird, as he is often 

 seen about our lawns and gardens. He 

 is, however, especially fond of evergreen 

 trees, and in the Rural Cemetery, where 



