26 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



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A. <). U. No. 529. CAstragalinus trlstis). 



The common Goldfinch is found throughout the United States and in 

 Canada north to Labrador^ Manitoba, and British Cohmibia. In the Rocky 

 ]\Iountains, from Northern Mexico to British Cohmibia, Goldfinches are 

 found to average slightly larger than the eastern ones, and in the winter 

 plumage they are paler and with more white on the wings; this variety is 

 called the Western Goldfinch (A. t. pallidus). Still further Avest, from 

 Lower California north to Washington, Goldfinches are found to be of the 

 same size as the eastern ones, but darker in color and with the white areas 

 as pronounced as in the Western variety; this sub-species is called the 

 California Goldfinch (A. t. salicamans). 



But wherever they are found and by whatever name they may be called, 

 they are always the same jolly golden-hearted, as well as golden-plumaged 

 fellows, friends of all and enemies of none. They are always associated in 

 my mind with thistles, for, since childhood, I have always delighted in sit- 

 ting on a side hill watching these birds, gleams of sunshine they seem as 

 the suns rays play on their beautiful coats, gathering load after load of light 

 thistle-down to weave into their homes. In Massachusetts, at least, this 

 thistle-down seems to' be a staple building material; of perhaps half a hun- 

 dred nests that I have examined, not one has been without it and in many it 

 formed the bulk of the nest. I have often wondered if they deferred their 

 home-building, for they do not nest until July or August, because of their 

 liking for this material or whether it was from some other cause. No other 

 bird habitually breeds so late; I have found Goldfinch nests with eggs after 

 the first of September, and the young were still unable to fly when other 

 birds were migrating. 



Do you know of any place where a trickling brook winds its way through 

 clumps of alders? That is the place to look for Goldfinch nests, just such 

 a place as you would expect to find Woodcock in the fall, where the ground 

 is soft for "boring." If you have a sportsman friend, ask him if he knows 

 of any Woodcock "covers;" during July and August these places might well 

 be termed Goldfinch "covers." If the place is small there will probably but 

 one pair nest there, but if it covers considerable ground you may find as 

 many as a dozen jjairs nesting in peace and harmony. 



Their nests are firmly made of the softest material and very securely 

 fastened in a crotch usually out of reach from the ground. A year ago last 

 August I came across one of these nests, the first that I had seen for several 



