EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH, 



Carduelis carduelis BoiE. 



^HE beautiful European Goldfinch, having been introduced and successfully 

 naturalized a number of years ago, bids fair to become quite plentiful in and near 

 New York, Hoboken, Boston, Cambridge and Worcester, Mass., in parts of New Jersey, 

 Portland and other localities in Oregon, and probably also in St. Louis and Cincinnati. 

 The bird w^as introduced in all these places in small numbers, but nowhere it seems to 

 thrive so admirably than near Portland and in other parts of Oregon. The secretary 

 of the Oregon Society of Acclimatisation at Portland, Mr. Pflueger, informs me that 

 almost all the birds, especially Sky-larks, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Blackbirds {Merula 

 merula Boie), Song Thrushes, Starlings, Cardinals, and even Mockingbirds and other usefiil 

 European and American songbirds, which were set free some years ago, thrive admirably 

 and that the Goldfinch in particular finds the climate and the landscape very congenial, 

 singing most delightfully and multiplying readily, In the extensive orchards they find 

 most favorable haunts, breeding preferably in apple, pear, plum, and coniferous trees 

 where the nest is well hidden among the dense foliage of the exterior branches. Food 

 is always plentiful and the winters are extremely mild. In this region most of the birds 

 have become residents, remaining throughout the year where they sing and breed. 



A nest of this favorite bird, which is the true counterpart of our beautiful and 

 familiar American Goldfinch, has been found repeatedly in Massachusetts and New York. 

 On July 11, 1890, Mr. F. S. Wilder found a nest in Northville, a suburb of Worcester, 

 Mass., in an apple tree within seven feet from the ground, similar to the nest 

 described in Ridgway's "Manual of North American Birds," except that it contains 

 no moss. In Central Park, New York, Mr. E. T. Adney discovered two nests April 20, 

 1886. They were built in pine trees and were placed among the tufts of pine needles, 

 near the end of slender horizontal limbs, about twelve feet from the ground. The neat, 

 compact, and cup-shaped structure is generally composed of fine grasses, mosses, fine 

 bark-strips, etc., lined with a thick layer of plant-down. The eggs, four to six in num- 

 ber, are bluish or greenish-white, marked with reddish-brown round the larger end. 



In Europe the Goldfinch occurs from central Sweden south to Greece and Spain, 

 being also 'found on the Canary Islands and Madeira, in north-west Africa, Asia minor, 

 and a large part of Siberia. In Italy this and other songbirds are exceedingly rare, 

 owing to the "bird-murdering" habit of the Italians. 



Within its range the Goldfinch appears everywhere, especially in such localities 

 where fruit culture is common, orchards and ornamental trees near dwellings being its 

 favorite nesting places. But the bird does not occur everywhere in equal abundance. 

 In Germany and England where it is cherished by all and carefully protected, it is 

 much more abundant than in any other European country. In the fall the Goldfinches 

 assemble into flocks of several hundreds, wandering about in the region, but not migrat- 

 ing far to the south. Cold does not affect the birds, as they are able during the winter 



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