104 PURPLE FINCH. 



gun ; botli are now as familiar as if brought up from the nest by the 

 hand, and seem to prefer hempseed and cherry blossoms to all other 

 kinds of food. Both male and female, though not crested, are almost 

 constantly in the habit of erecting the feathers of the crown ; they 

 appear to be of a tyrannical and domineering disposition, for they 

 nearly killed an Indigo-bird, and two or three others that were occa- 

 sionally placed with them, driving them into a corner of the cage, 

 standing on them and tearing out their feathers, striking them on the 

 head, munching their wings, &c., &c., till I was obliged to interfere ; 

 and even if called to, the aggressor would only turn up a malicious eye 

 to me for a moment, and renew his outrage as before. They are a 

 hardy, vigorous bird. In the month of October, about the time of their 

 first arrival, I shot a male, rich in plumage, and plump in flesh, but 

 which wanted one leg, that had been taken off a little above the knee ; 

 the wound had healed so completely, and -was covered with so thick a 

 skin, that it seemed as though it had been so for years. Whether this 

 mutilation was occasioned by a shot, or in party quarrels of its own, I 

 could not determine ; but our invalid seemed to have used his stump 

 either in hopping or resting, for it had all the appearance of having 

 been brought in frequent contact with other bodies harder than itself. 



This bird is a striking example of the truth of what I have frequently 

 repeated in this work, that in many instances the same bird has been 

 more than once described by the same person as a different species ; for 

 it is a fact which time will establish, that the Crimson-headed Finch of 

 Pennant and Latham, the Purple Finch of the same and other natu- 

 ralists, the Hemp-bird of Bartram, and the Fringilla rosea of Pallas, 

 are one and the same, viz., the Purple Finch, the subject of the present 

 article. 



The Purple Finch is six inches in length and nine in extent ; headj 

 neck, back, breast, rump, and tail coverts, dark crimson, deepest on the 

 head and chin, and lightest on the lower part of the breast ; the back 

 is streaked with dusky ; the wings and tail are also dusky black, edged 

 with reddish ; the latter a good deal forked ; round the base of the bill 

 the recumbent feathers are of a light clay or cream color ; belly and 

 vent white ; sides under the wings streaked with dull reddish ; legs a 

 dirty purplish flesh color ; bill short, strong, conical, and of a dusky 

 horn color ; iris dark hazel ; the feathers covering the ears are more 

 dusky red than the other parts of the head. This is the male, when 

 arrived at its full colors. The female is nearly of the same size, of a 

 brown olive or flaxen color, streaked with dusky black ; the head seamed 

 with lateral lines of whitish ; above and below the hind part of the ear 

 feathers, are two streaks of white ; the breast is whitish, streaked with 

 a light flax color ; tail and wings as in the male, only both edged with 

 dull brown instead of red; belly and vent white. This is also the 



