summer residents have left for a more congenial clime in the Southern States. I have 

 seen single individuals in Wisconsin about Christmas and New Year, and they uttered 

 their common call-note per-cbick'-o-pee as happily as in summer. Even the few that 

 remain during the winter, are very erratic, moving from place to place until spring 

 arrives. 



In Wisconsin and northern Illinois the majority leave for the South early in No- 

 vember, when their favorite food supply is getting scarce. A few stragglers, however, 

 linger until the middle of December, if the weather be fair. In the Gulf region large 

 scattered flocks arrive in the last days of November or the beginning of December. 

 Their favorite food in the Southern States is the seed of the button-wood tree or syca- 

 more. Sometimes one of these gigantic trees is covered with these now very quiet, 

 plainly dressed birds. With the agility of Titmice they hang on the balls which contain 

 the seeds, and the air is full of the cottony substance in which the seeds are embedded. 

 The seeds of this tree form their main diet during the first half of the winter in the 

 Southern States. In spring they come down to the ground, where they search for seeds, 

 small plants, and insects. While w^alking through one of the most beautiful streets in 

 Houston, Texas, on March 29, 1880, I heard continually low sweet notes which were 

 at once familiar to my ear. I looked around in the broad live oaks and in the magni- 

 ficent large-flowering magnolias in the street and garden, but was unable to detect the 

 birds. At last, when looking over the fence into the large, beautiful semi-tropical garden, 

 I saw on the grass among rose bushes and gardenias a large number of Goldfinches 

 busily engaged in searching for food. Their bills were entirely covered with black soil, 

 and most of them were uttering their low call-note ce-ree at frequent intervals. 



In Wisconsin I have rarely met with the first arrivals from the South before May 

 15, and sometimes I have not seen them before May 25. They usually make their 

 appearance in large scattered flocks, which remain together till the breeding season 

 arrives, when they separate into pairs. This is about the middle of June. Each pair 

 now moves into its old quarters, or, in case of young birds, selects its breeding place 

 in a locality not yet occupied by another pair. Where the birds are common, the nesting 

 range of each pair is verj'^ small, and I have repeatedly found from five to six pairs 

 breeding in one large garden or orchard. 



"The Goldfinch," says Dr. T. M. Brewer, "is to a large extent gregarious and 

 nomadic in its habits, and only for a short portion of the year do these birds separate 

 into pairs for the purpose of reproduction. During at least three-fourths of the year 

 they associate in small flocks, and wander about in an irregular and uncertain manner 

 in quest of their food. They are resident throughout the year in New England, and 

 also throughout the greater portion of the country, their presence or absence being 

 regulated to a large extent by the abundance, scarcity, or absence of their favorite 

 kinds of food. In winter, the seeds of the taller weeds are their principal means of sub- 

 sistence. In the summer the seeds of the thistle and other plants and weeds are sought 

 out by these interesting and busy gleaners. They are abundant in gardens, and as a 

 general thing do very little harm, and a vast amount of benefit in the destruction of 

 the seeds and troublesome weeds. As, however, they do not always discriminate between 

 seeds that are troublesome and those that are desirable, the Goldfinches are unwel- 



