230 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



About the year 1863, a friend who used to join me in some of 

 my local collecting trips was in the town of Gait, and seeing a 

 small flock of large light-colored Redpolls secured two of the 

 lot and sent them to me in the flesh. I have neither before nor 

 since met with any so large and hoary. One of them which I 

 still have, mounted, seems to answer to the above description, 

 but the country from which the Redpolls ccme is large enough 

 to produce varying forms from different latitudes, and I think 

 it is open to question whether or not it is wise to divide them 

 into so many different species. 



Genus SPINUS Koch. 



:^()8. SPINUS TRISTIS (Linn.). o2d. 



American Goldfinch. 



Male in sum ner, rich yellow, changing to whitish on the tail-coverts ; a 

 black patch on the c;own ; wings black, more or less edged and barred with 

 white ; lesser wing coverts yellow ; tail black, every feather with a white 

 spot ; bill and feet flesh-colored. In September the black cap disappears 

 and the general plumage changes to a pale flaxen-brown above and whitey- 

 brown below, with traces of the yellow, especially about the head ; this 

 continues till the following April or May. Female olivaceous, including the 

 crown ; below soiled yellowish ; wings and tail dusky, whitish-edged ; young 

 like the female . Length, about 4f ; wing, 2| ; tail, 2. 



Hab. North America generally, breeding southward to the middle 

 districts of the United States (to about the Potomac and Ohio Rivers, 

 Kansas and California), and wintering mostly south of the northern 

 boundary of the United States. 



Nest, a neat strong structure, resembling that of the Summer Yellow- 

 bird ; composed of miscellaneous soft materials firmly felted together and 

 lined with plant down ; usually placed in the upright fork of a tree or bush, 

 from 6 to 20 feet from the ground. 



Eggs, 4 to 6 ; pale bluish- white, unmarked. 



In Southern Ontario the Goldfinch may be considered a 

 resident species, for they nest throughout the country generally, 

 and even in the depth of winter are often met unexpectedly in 

 some favored locality where they find food and shelter. In the 

 severe winter of 1885-6, I came upon a colony of this kind in 

 West Flamboro', where several himdreds of the birds 



