Bird Study 51 



The song of the goldfinch is exquisite and he sings during the entire 

 period of his golden dress; he sings while flying as well as when at rest. 

 The flight is in itself beautiful, being wave-like up and down, in graceful 

 curves. Mr. Chapman says when on the down half of the curve the male 

 sings "Per-chick or-ree." The goldfinch's call notes and alarm notes are 

 very much like those of the canary. 



Since the goldfinches live so largely upon seeds of grasses, they stay 

 with us in small numbers during the winter. During this period both 

 parents and young are dressed in olive green, and their sweet call notes 

 are a surprise to us of a cold, snowy morning, for they are associated in our 

 memory with summer. The male dons his winter suit in October. 



The goldfinch nest is a mass of fluffiness. These are the only birds 

 that make feather beds for their young. But, perhaps, we should say 

 beds of down, since it is the thistle down which is used for this mattress. 

 The outside of the nest consists of fine shreds of bark or fine grass closely 

 woven ; but the inner portion is a mat of thistle down — an inch and a half 

 thick of cushion for a nest which has an opening of scarcely three inches; 

 sometimes the outside is ornamented with lichens. The nest is usually 

 placed in some bush or tree, often in an evergreen, and not more than 5 or 

 6 feet from the ground; but sometimes it is placed 30 feet high. The 

 eggs are from four to six in number and bluish white in color. The female 

 builds the nest, her mate cheering her with song meanwhile; he feeds her 

 while she is incubating and helps feed the young. A strange thing about 

 the nesting habits of the goldfinches is that the nest is not built until 

 August. It has been surmised that this nesting season is delayed until 

 there is an abundance of thistle down for building material. Audubon 

 Leaflet No. 17 gives special information about these birds and also 

 furnishes an outline of the birds for the pupils to color. 



LESSON IX 

 The Canary and the Goldfinch 



Leading thought — The canary is a very close relative of the common 

 wild goldfinch. If we compare the habits of the two we can understand 

 how a canary might live if it were free. 



Method — Bring a canary to the schoolroom and ask for observations. 

 Request the pupils to compare the canary with the goldfinches which are 

 common in the summer. The canary offers opportunity for very close 

 observation which will prove excellent training for the pupils for beginning 

 bird study. 



Observations — i. If there are two canaries in the cage are they 

 always pleasant to each other? Which one is the "boss?" How do they 

 show displeasure or bad temper? How do they show affection for each 

 other? 



2. Which one is the singer? Does the other one ever attempt to 

 sing? What other notes do the canaries make besides singing? How do 

 they greet you when you bring their food ? What do they say when they 

 are lonesome and hungry? 



3. Does the singer have more than one song? How does he act 

 while singing? Why does he throw back his head like an opera singer 

 when singing? 



