528 LAND BIRDS 



530. CALIFORNIA GOLDFINCH. — Astragalinus 

 psaltria hesperophilus. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 4.00-4.50. 



Adult Male: Upper parts olive-green ; crown, wings, and tail black, 



with inner webs of tail-feathers white; under parts entirely deep 



lemon-yellow. 

 Adult Female : Upper parts grayish olive-green ; under parts light 



greenish yellow ; wings and tail dull black. 

 Young: Similar to female, but tinged with buffy, and wing-coverts 



tipped with buff. 

 Geographical Distribution: Southwestern United States, north to Oregon, 



east as far as Utah, south to Lower California, and Southwestern New 



Mexico and Northern Sonora, Mexico. In winter to Cape St. Lucas. 

 California Breeding Range: Chiefly below Transition zone nearly 



through the State. 

 Breeding Season : May to August. 

 Nest: A small, compact felted mass of vegetable fibre, moss, grasses, 



leaves, and fine bark ; lined with plant down and sometimes with 



thistle-down ; placed in trees and bushes, from 3 to 40 feet from the 



ground. 

 Eggs: 5 to 6 ; pale bluish or greenish white. Size 0.63 X 0.45. 



The Arkansas Goldfinch differs from the " willow " 

 chiefly in its habitat, being a bird of the orchard and 

 garden as well as of the wooded highway. It is found 

 in the mountains along the edges of clearings to a height 

 of six thousand feet. In breeding habits it resembles 

 the willow, commencing its nest when the thistle-down 

 is at hand for lining and the seeds for food for the nest- 

 lings. Except in the breeding season, it is found in small 

 flocks, feeding upon the seeds of weeds or plants, and to a 

 limited extent upon berries and haws. Along the edge 

 of a country road in the fall, the weed tops blossom with 

 these merry songsters, who fly up as you come near, only 



