The Lawrence Goldfinch 



Taken in 



San Diego County 



Photo by 



Donald R. Dickey 



NEST AND EGG 



.AWRENCE GOLDFINCH 



Dr. Brewer. l They are smaller than those of either tristis or psaltria, and 

 bulk about two-thirds that of the former. The nests are exquisite crea- 

 tions, highly varied in construction and sometimes quite picturesque. A 

 dainty cup before me, an inch and a half in diameter and one in depth, is 

 compacted of wool, flower-heads, fairy grasses, horsehair, and feathers. 

 Another, of coarser construction, boasts several additional ingredients, but 

 dispenses with horsehair in favor of sheer feathers for lining. A third 

 displays a garland of protruding and highly nutant grass-heads, as chic as 

 a Parisian bonnet. The female, naturally, disputes the intruder's claim 

 to such a piece of handiwork; but she does not often have to be lifted 

 from the nest. 



Although irregularly resident in winter throughout its breeding 

 range, the Lawrence Goldfinch seems to prefer the deserts of Arizona and 

 New Mexico for a winter home. This east and west migration, having 



Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, Vol. I., p. 479. 



200 



