FU1N(.11I,LIU.K-T11H I'lNCllES. 40ij 



])arivllols is ii nitliiT (•uimnoii liinl in siiitiihlo iDculitics. A fuw am (tcciisidii- 

 iilly loiiiul (liiiiiii; till! wiiitiT ill MiissaciiiiscUs, Imt usually tlit'V all jiass i'ar- 

 tlier siailli. In the Statu of Suiilli Cainliiia Lliry aro csin'cially abundant 

 throuj;liiait the winter, nr I'nan Octtiliui' \intil April. 



l)r. Coui'S states that the rurpli' Finch is a very alaindant winter resident 

 near Washiiij^tun, arriviii;,' early in Octoher and reiuainiii;;' until May, beiiij,' 

 eminently gregarious. Stragglers were .seen until nearly .lune, luit the major- 

 ity had de])arted as tlit! leaves expanded. They were mo.st conniion in high 

 open woods, and were oliserveil to IcimI chietly on tender young buds oi' trees. 

 They were in i'ull .song betbrt; they took tlii'ir departure. 



They make their first ai)pearanee in regular migrations, in Massaehusetta, 

 from the lOth to the lilttli of May, luul oceasionally a few are seen earlier. 

 They are often unweleome visitors to the fruit-growi'rs, having a great fond- 

 ness for the bhwsonis of the peaeli, elierry, plum, ami apjile. They will also 

 feed upon other kinds of buils and bl((.ssoms. 'I'hey have a great predilec- 

 tion for evergreen trees, especially the lir, the spruce, and the red cedar, 

 and mo.st generally build their nests in these trees. In summer they feed on 

 seeils, insects, and bc.'rries (jf the honeysuckle and other shrubs. 



The I'urple Finch, or, as it is geneialiy known in New luigland, the Linnet, 

 is one of our sweetest, best, and most constant songsters, and is ftften tiapped 

 and sold as caged birds. They soon become aecustiuned and jiartially recon- 

 ciled to their coniinement, but sing only during a small part of the year. 

 When one of these birds, coniiiied in a cage, is hung outside the house, 

 in tlui country, he is sure tft tlraw around him cpiite a number of his species, 

 and this furnishes the dealer a ready means of capturing them. 



This Finch was once regarded as ipiite rare in the vicinity of I'.oston, so 

 much so that during a four years' residence in Cambridge, when collections 

 of nests and eggs had many votaries, not a single nest of this s:;)ecies was 

 obtained by any one. Since then, from some cause, probably the increase of 

 gardens, groves of evergreens, and other localities favorable for their preserva- 

 tion and reproduction, these graceful little F'inehes have become (juite abun- 

 dant in places ]tro]iitious for their lesidence. No less than seven jiairs of 

 these favorite .songsters took up the.i abode in my grounds at lliiigham in a 

 single suiiuner, and two had nests in the .same tree, one of which was at least 

 sixty feet from the ground, on the very top of a tall tir. These several ])airs, 

 as a general thing, lived together very harmoniously, save only when one 

 would ap])roach too near the favorite station of another, when the latter 

 would begin to bristle up his crest, and give very evident hints that his near 

 presence was not agreeable. The extreme southern end of the ridge-jjole of 

 the house had been, for several summers, the favorite post for the patriarch 

 of the Hock, from which at morning and at evening he made the neighbor- 

 hood vocal with his melody. If in his absence any other of these birds 

 ventured to occupy his position, there was always sure to be a distiu'bance on 

 his return, if it was not instantly vacated. These encounters were freiiueiit, 



