480 LAND BIRDS 



season. The call-note is a chirp not unlike that of the 

 English sparrow, but somewhat softer. 



518. CASSIN PURPLE FINCH. — Carpodacus cassini. 

 Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length. ■ 6.50-6.95. 



Adult Male : Upper parts pinkish brown, clearly streaked with dark 

 brown ; top of head bright crimson ; rump subdued rose-pink ; throat 

 and breast pale rose-pink ; belly white ; sides tinged with pinkish ; 

 lower tail-coverts conspicuously streaked with dusky ; wing-feathers 

 edged with reddish. 



Adult Female : Upper parts olive-gray ; under parts white ; entire plu- 

 mage conspicuously streaked with dusky. 



Young: Similar to adult female, but streaks on lower parts narrower and 

 less conspicuous, and wing-edgings more tawny buff. 



Geographical Distribution : Western United States, north to British 

 Columbia, east to Rocky Mountains, south to Mexico. 



California Breeding Range : Lower Boreal zone from Mt. Shasta to Los 

 Angeles County ; also Inyo Mountains and White Mountains. 



Breeding Season: May and June. 



Nest : Flat and thin ; composed mostly of rootlets and grasses ; lined 

 with moss and cotton ; placed near the tops of young pines, on hori- 

 zontal branches. 



Eggs : 2 to 4 ; light bluish green, dotted around the larger end with 

 slate, lilac, and dark brown. Size 0.84 X 0.62. 



Flocks of Cassin Purple Finches are met with along 

 the entire high Sierra Nevada from Mount Shasta south- 

 ward. The winter storms only drive thein a little lower 

 down to the shelter of the brush, or in severe seasons 

 to the foot-hills ; but even then it is not uncommon to 

 find a small flock huddled under a fallen tree for shelter 

 and trying to brave it out in the snow. With the re- 

 turning spring the flocks go back to their pine-covered 

 haunts in the higher altitudes. 



