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THE HAWK EYE ORNITHOLOGIST AND OOLOGIST. 



NOTES ON SOME OF THE PAS- 

 SERES OF FUhTON COUNTY, 

 KENTUCKY. 



FOURTH PAPEK, BY L. O. PINDAE, PKES. Y. O. A., 

 HICKMAN, KENTUCKY. 



'ND now we come to the large family 

 2< 'ringillidce which is the largest 

 family we have, comprising about one-sev- 

 enth of the birds of N. America, according 

 to Dr. Coues. If we have counted aright 

 the A. O. U. Check List places 133 species 

 in this family, which includes the Gros- 

 beaks, Finches, Redpolls, Goldfinches, 

 Longspurs, the various Sparrows, Juncos, 

 Towhees, Cardinals, Buntings, etc. 



AVe will be compelled to devote two pa- 

 pers to this familj'; and will first take up 

 the Am. Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) as 1 

 have had many opportunities of observing 

 it. It is a common resident here, though this 

 is perhaps one ot their most Southern breed- 

 ing grounds; and, like the Meadow Lark, is 

 extremely local in its distribution. Six 

 miles south of Hickman, just over the line, 

 in Obion Co., Tenn., they are very abund- 

 ant; but right at Hickman we rarely find 

 them except in winter, when they come 

 around the houses and barns. 



I have often noticed them feeding on 

 the seeds of the sweet gum tree iu winter; 

 and this habit drew the following remark- 

 able sentence from a boy who spoke of 

 them as "Them 'ere little black and yeller 

 birds what eats sweet-gum seeds." Ought 

 not that description puzzle anyone as to 

 what it meant. This bird has many local 

 names, Wild Canary, Flaxbird, Thistlebird, 

 Lettuccbird, etc. being most common, all 

 being received, as will be seen, from its hab- 

 its of feeding on thistle tops, wild flax, let- 

 tuce seed, etc. 



This bird enjoys the distinction of being 

 about the latest nester we have, usually 

 commencing its domestic care in July, 



sometimes not till August. The probable 

 reason for this is that the various seeds fed 

 to the young are not to be found in their 

 greatest abundance till this time, for the 

 birds always nest earlier if we have an early 

 spring and vice versa. 



The nest is saddled on a limb, something 

 after the manner of that of the "Wood 

 Thrush, though of course so dainty a bird 

 could never be imagined to use mud in its 

 nest. Instead, it weaves together the soft 

 inner bark of the grape vine, slender blades 

 of grass, fine moss, and small leaves, lined 

 with an exquisite carpet of felted thistle 

 down. 



When their home is at last completed, 

 four to six white eggs, delicately tinged 

 with green and sharply pointed at one end, 

 are laid. The above is the normal color, 

 but occasionally a set is found with black 

 spots, and again they may be bluish white. 

 They measure ab< ut .65x.50. 



The Chipping Sparrow {Spizella social- 

 is) is another common bird here, bein«- 

 most common in summer though many gen- 

 erally remain through the winter. ' Last 

 winter, '87-'88, however, contrary to their 

 usual habits, they all left late in the fall 

 returning early in A.pril. 



The-Chippy, Hair-bird, or Social Spar- 

 row, is one of our best known birds, proba- 

 bly on account of its abundance and the 

 trust it reposes in man, nearly always nest, 

 ing near buildings, and also on account of 

 its extended habitat, reaching west to the 

 Rocky Mts , and south to. Mexico. 



The nest is said by some to be generally 

 placed in shrubbery, etc., but we do not 

 find this to he the case. Our first nest was 

 in a mulberry tree, and about 12 feet from 

 the ground. 



The nest is not an exceptionally neat 

 structure; it is composed of leaves, dried 

 grass, fine twigs, and with always enough 

 horsehair in its make up to justify the pop- 

 ular appellation of Hair-bird. 



The eggs are four to five in number, blu- 

 ish green, speckled with blackish brown 

 and measure, according to Mr. Davie, who' 

 gives the average of 30 specimens, .69x.48. 



