THE GOLDFINCH. 



{Spinus tristis.) 



Let almost any country boy tell over 

 the birds he knows by name, and one 

 of the first names to be mentioned will 

 be "wild canary" or ''yellow bird" as 

 he calls it. 



There are several reasons why the 

 Goldfinch is one of the best known of 

 our native birds. The far-seen yellow, 

 gleaming like sunshine, contrasting 

 with the unillumined blackness of cap 

 and wings, distinguishes him from 

 every other bird, so there is no getting 

 him mixed up with his various rela- 

 tives or with some other fellow that 

 looks like him. The sight of one of 

 these birds perched on the rim of a 

 thistle chalice, busily pecking seed and 

 launching fleet after fleet. of airy para- 

 chutes upon the dreamy autumn haze, 

 mingling a cheery call now and then, 

 is one of the most familiar and idyllic 

 of country scenes, and full of signifi- 

 cance too, as to the usefulness of the 

 bird. 



The call, also, is one of the items 

 that helps make the bird well known, 

 for it is quite characteristic of him, and 

 he is never silent for a long time. It 

 is not a call that particularly attracts 

 the attention or makes any startling 

 break in the silence; it is not even a 

 clear whistle nor in any way a chal- 

 lenge to the attention nor a sustained 

 song, though he can sing when he tries. 

 It is rather a cheery, conversational 

 voice, that one learns to recognize just 

 as he does that of a friend. 



Again, the Goldfinch is one of the 

 comparatively few birds that even the 

 amateur can distinguish by its flight. 

 One does not need to wait until it 

 alights to tell what it is. Its flight, 

 unlike that of any other of our birds, 

 is a series of undulations. It is like 

 some fairy boat bounding over waves 

 of air. As he approaches the top of 

 each crest, he utters a musical, cheery 

 tee-de-dee, so that you can actually 

 identify him in flight with your eyes 

 shut, or looking the other way. 



Perhaps another thing that helps not 

 a little in the recognition of this bird 



is the fact that he reminds one some- 

 what of a canary, and there are few 

 circumstances more helpful toward see- 

 ing things than to have them in the 

 mind's eye to begin with. Most of 

 the boys are of the opinion that the 

 bird is a real canary that has either 

 escaped, or not yet been captured, and 

 it is this bird, perhaps more than any 

 other that his wishes associate with a 

 cage; not because it is more beautiful 

 or a sweeter songster, so far as he 

 knows, but because it is one of the 

 most familiar birds in this relation. 



Most boys are of the opinion that 

 the bird leaves us in winter; that is 

 because he changes his colors so com- 

 pletely in autumn that his best friends 

 recognize him only by his ways— his 

 voice and flight. He is now more 

 sparrow-like, with two white wing- 

 bars. Now he associates more with 

 others of his own kind and they " fre- 

 quently gather in large flocks, and seek 

 out weedy places in neglected fields, 

 where they take care of the seeds. 

 When frightened, the flock arose to- 

 gether into the air, each one rising and 

 dipping in gentle undulations. It is 

 as graceful as the aerial dances of 

 midges on a summer's day; only there 

 is a forward motion, and as they weave 

 their way through the air, it occurs 

 to one that if they had only kept their 

 summer raiment, what a splendid cloth 

 of gold they would weave. 



They are among the earliest birds we 

 hear in spring. Two birds alight on 

 the same or neighboring trees and 

 begin tee-heeing each other. In their 

 language it is perhaps only a friendly 

 conversation, but in human lang^iage 

 that ''tee-hee" with which they salute 

 each other is one of the most guying 

 and derisive sounds on earth and it 

 would be difficult to imagine two chil- 

 dren bandying that sound back and 

 forth without serious results. Perhaps 

 if he had been known better when 

 fables were in vogue some gentle Aesop 

 would point out to quarrelsome children 

 how this angelic bird keeps his temper 



