THE BIRDS OP NEW JERSEY. 61 



dark blue and the size one and four-fifths by one and one- 

 fifth inches. They formerly bred in large colonies in the 

 cedar swamps in the southern part of the state and occas- 

 ionally a few are seen there yet in August and September. 

 Their food consists of frogs, lizards, small fish and small 

 water snakes, insects and seeds of the splatterdocks. 



Falcon. See Duck Hawk. 



Finch, Grold. See Gold Finch. 



Finch, €rrass. See Vespei' Sparrow. 



Finch, Pine, or Pine Siskin. — This bird is five 

 inches long and nine in extent; bill, two-fifths of an inch. 

 The head and back are light brown, streaked with black; 

 beneath, white, with a buff or sulphur tint and streaked 

 with black; tail, blackish, with the base sulphur yellow; 

 wings, dark blackish, with margin of yellow and with 

 base of quills yeUow; legs and feet, brown. 



It builds its nest in the upper branches of evergreen 

 trees; the nest is made of twigs and small roots, lined 

 with plant down and hair. The eggs are two-thirds of 

 an inch by half an inch in size, of a pale greenish blue 

 with brown spots; they are four in number. 



Its breeding location is in the northern part of the 

 United States, extending southward along the tops of 

 the mountains. It is an irregular visitant in New Jersey, 

 from the middle of October to the middle of March; it is 

 very erratic in its movements and at times appears in 

 large flocks and again in company with the Goldfinch. 



Its song is similar to but less musical than that of the 

 Goldfinch and seldom heard here. 



Its food is confined to seeds, preferring those of the 

 black alder. 



Finch, Purple. — Length, six and one-fourth inches; 

 extent, nine inches; bill, half an inch, brown in color; 



