THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



TRAILING ARBUTUS. 



BY JULIA M. HOOPER. 



The heart of the forest, the breath of the hills, 

 Is held in thy pink cup, and all the air fills. 

 O'er crag and field wand'ring, with lovliest 



sprays 

 Of pink and white lifted to catch the sun's 



rays; 

 On forest floors spreading bright carpets of 



bloom; 

 Then modestly hiding both bloom and perfume. 



NOTES ON THE PURPLE FINCH. 



{Carpodacus purpureas.) 



BY ELLA A. BAKER, LEXINGTON, MASS. 



During the first lull in the boisterous March 

 weather, we suddenly catch the sound of ten- 

 tative warbling. It is a faint ripple of the ad- 

 vancing tide which is to rise higher and higher 

 until the country-side overflows with joyous song. 

 The earliest wave brings us the robin and the 

 bluebird, and speedily, yet in varying order, there 

 follow the song sparrow, the purple finch, the 

 phebe, and the meadow lark. With these ap- 

 pear also the junco, the fox-colored sparrow, 

 and others — a group of restless folk who soon 

 depart for higher latitudes. 



One of the most conspicuous of these early 

 comers is the purple finch or linnet. In spite 

 of his name, the finch is not purple, but crim- 

 son and brown; yet the inaccuracy, due (ac- 

 cording to Stearns) to the faulty coloring of 

 the early plates, clings persistently, appearing in 

 nearly every name, popular or scientific, that 

 has been bestowed upon him. 



The males of this species vary greatly in vi- 

 vidness of color, some individuals showing a pale 

 rosy hue which seems like the reflection of their 

 more favored brethren whose plumage seen in 

 the sunlight glows with the deep tint of the ruby. 

 One may fancy that the chrism of color decend- 

 ed upon the bird like a shower-bath, staining 

 head and back richly yet paling as it flowed and 

 becoming exhausted before the original brown 

 bird was fully transformed. Unfortunately his 

 meek spouse was absent when the interesting 

 ceremony took place and she still retains her 

 modest sparrowy garb. The elegance of the 

 bird is marred by one feature — the heavy coni- 



cal bill peculiar to the seed-eaters; but this de- 

 fect is counter-balanced by a pretty habit pecul- 

 iar to himself of erecting the crown feathers into 

 the semblence of a crest. 



Another peculiarity to be noted is the irreg- 

 ularity of his local distribution. While found 

 in abundance in some towns of eastern Massa- 

 chusetts in others adjoming, although from no 

 apparent cause, he is conspicuous only by his 

 absence- Thirty years ago, he was considered 

 a rare bird in districts where now he is among 

 the most common. This great mcrease has been 

 accounted for in various ways, the most reason- 

 able theory being that which attributes it to the 

 popular custom of planting evergreens. 



In certain grounds long familiar to me in 

 which cedars, spruces and fir balsams formed a 

 prominent feature, these pretty finches were as 

 much at home as the ubiquitous robin or the 

 confiding hair-bird. Unlike these, the finches 

 seemed indifferent to their human neighbors if 

 not indeed unconscious of them. In only one 

 particular — in the location of the nests — did 

 they exhibit shyness. During successive seasons, 

 a pair ot these birds (whether the same or not, 

 I can not tell) established their house-keeping 

 beside the most frequented avenue " about a 

 young bird's flutter " from the human habitation, 

 yet so carefully was the nest concealed amid the 

 dense shade of evergreen boughs that one might 

 pass a thousand times and never suspect the 

 charming secret. Conscious of the security of 

 his treasures, the little father flung further pru- 

 dence to the winds and presenting himself in 

 the most conspicuous positions, at all hours of 

 the day he poured out his soul in ecstatic 

 music. 



In spite of his beauty, the purple finch is no 

 favorite with the gardener. Subsisting during 

 the greater part of the year upon the seeds of 

 evergreens and other trees, he is not satisfied 

 with an unvaried diet and wherever his travels 

 may lead him, he seldon fails to visit the garden 

 at the time of fruit blossoming when he makes 

 havoc with the buds of cherry, apple and pear 

 trees. The choicer the variely, the more devot- 

 ed his attentions and many a fine crop is ruin- 

 ed. He knows, too, as well as robin and cedar- 

 bird, when cherries are ripe and enjoys the feast. 



As a songster, the linnet shares the honors of 



