214 BIRDS OF THE WORLD 



Yellow-bird, is a distinct species from the European. 

 It is also a very beautiful little bird, having a bright 

 yellow body, a black cap, and black wings and tail 

 varied with white. The sexes are quite unlike in 

 colour, the female being olive-brown above and yellow- 

 ish below. In the fall the black cap of the male dis- 

 appears and his colours in general fade until they 

 approximate those of his mate. The sweet song and 

 undulating flight of this little bird are well known. 

 The American Goldfinch is quite common east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. 



The Siskin, or Aberdevine, is a near relative of the 

 Goldfinch, which it resembles both in song and in man- 

 ner of flight. It breeds in the Arctic regions of the 

 Old World, and winters in many parts of Europe. 

 The Siskin is especially abundant in the British 

 Islands, where it is frequently kept in confinement on 

 account of its melodious song. See Plate 18, Fig. 103. 



The Pine Siskin, or Pine Finch, of this country, is 

 also a native of the far North, but winters south to 

 the Gulf States, and is found throughout almost the 

 whole of North America. The colouring, in general, 

 is olive-brown above, whitish, streaked with black, 

 below, with yellow on wings and at base of tail. The 

 latter is slightly forked. Siskins feed chiefly on the 

 seeds of pines and hemlocks and other coniferous 

 trees. 



The home of the little bird known as the Serin 

 is in the southern parts of Europe and northern 

 Africa, although it is an occasional visitor to Great 

 Britain. This Finch has a peculiar interest, inasmuch 

 as it is probably the ancestor of that most popular 



