X72 THE PURPLE FINCH. 



They frequently associate with the Common Cross-bills, feeding on the 

 same trees, and like them are at times fond of alighting against the mud 

 used for closing the log-houses. They are seldom seen on the ground, 

 although their motions there are by no means embarrassed. They are 

 considered as destructive birds by some farmers, who accuse them of com- 

 mitting great depredations on the blossoms of their fruit-trees. I never 

 observed this in Louisiana, where they remain long after the peach and pear 

 trees are in full bloom. I have eaten many of them, and consider their 

 flesh equal to that of any other small bird, excepting the Rice Bunting. 



This species was seen by Dr. Richardson on the banks of the Saskat- 

 chewan river only, where it feeds on willow-buds. It arrives there in May, 

 and resides during the summer. The eggs have been procured in the State 

 of Massachusetts by my friend Dr. T. M. Brewer. They measure seven- 

 eighths and a quarter in length, four-eighths and a half in breadth, and are 

 thus of an elongated form, rather pointed. Their ground-colouf is a bright 

 emerald-green, sparingly marked with dots and a few streaks of black, 

 accumulated near the apex, and some large marks of dull purple here and 

 there over the whole surface. The following note is from the same gentle- 

 man: — "The passage of the Purple Finch through this State on its way 

 north, is so rapid, and the number of those that stop to breed here so small, 

 that I can furnish nothing respecting its habits, except that there is good 

 reason to believe the accusation which has been brought against it, of injuring 

 the blossoms of fruit trees. Last year, the trees were in full bloom at the 

 time this bird was migrating, and I saw them plainly clinging to the 

 branches, and at work upon the blossoms; so that under some trees the 

 ground was literally strewed with the result of their destructiveness, 

 although they did not appear to feed on the blossoms. I have had the good 

 fortune to meet with its nest and esrgs this season. Mr. Cabot found 

 another, and is probably the first naturalist who has done so. The nest 

 which I found was built in a cedar tree, at the distance of five feet from the 

 ground. The tree stood by itself in a small sandy pasture, which was 

 sparingly covered with half-grown cedars. The nest itself was rudely con- 

 structed: it was composed externally of coarse grass and weeds, lined with 

 fine roots of the same, and little care seemed to have been bestowed on its 

 completion. The diameter of the exterior was 9 inches, the brim 3 inches, 

 the depth 1 inch, the external depth 2 inches, giving it thus a shallow or 

 flatfish appearance. The eggs, four in number, were of a bright emerald- 

 green." 



I have found this species from Labrador to the Texas. Mr. Nuttall 

 and Mr. Towksexd met with it on the Columbia river, and all the way to 

 St. Louis. In South Carolina, where it appears only during severe winters, 



