RED CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE 479 



Young: Similar to adult female, but colors duller, markings less dis- 

 tinct, and edgings of wing-feathers more buffy. 



Geographical Distribution : Pacific coast of United States, from Southern 

 California to British Columbia. 



California Breeding Range : Upper Sonoran and Transition zones west 

 of the Sierra Nevada range. 



Breeding Season : May and June. 



Nest : A flat thin structure ; made of fine rootlets and grasses ; placed on 

 the horizontal limbs of trees. 



Eggs : 2 to i ; greenish blue, finely speckled on large end with dark 

 brown and black. Size 0.75 X 0.55. 



The California Purple Finch is one of those species 

 which indulge in a semi-annual vertical migration. 

 Spending the winter among the lowlands, feeding 

 through the valleys in small flocks, as soon as the snow 

 begins to melt in the mountains, they work their way 

 slowly to the higher levels. And the fruit-growers are 

 not sorry to see them go, for during their brief stay 

 through the winter months they have eaten the buds of 

 the deciduous trees, doing incalculable harm to the 

 crops. 



Half-way up the mountains, at an altitude of from 

 three thousand to five thousand feet, they find suitable 

 breeding grounds in the yellow pines, oaks, and red- 

 woods. The nest is built usually on a horizontal branch, 

 and is composed of wiry grass and fine rootlets woven 

 into a shallow cup and lined with wool or horsehair. 



Incubation lasts thirteen days ; and, so far as I have 

 observed, the male does not brood upon the eggs, al- 

 though he does take charge during the absence of the 

 female. 



The song of the Purple Finch is a pleasing warble 

 kept up during most of his waking hours in the breeding 



