Alabama, 1913. 13 



associate in flocks and live a happy, nomadic existence. Their 

 undulating mode of flight seems to express joy and exaltation, and 

 when they add song, it is the very abandon of happiness. Even 

 in winter, when the fields are brown and the trees are bare, a 

 flock of Goldfinches adds the charm of life to an otherwise dead 

 outlook. 



The Goldfinch migrates, but not to the extent that the truly 

 migratory species do. The Warblers, for instance, desert their 

 summer homes and, after making long journeys southward, spend 

 the winter beyond the limits of the United States ; the Goldfinches, 

 on the contrary, gradually move southward as far as the Gulf 

 States and in winter are found from the Gulf coast as far north 

 as the latitude of central New York. Their breeding range is 

 from the Carolinas westward to the Rocy Mountains and north- 

 ward to the British Provinces and southern Labrador; conse- 

 quently they are permanent residents in a large part of the United 

 States where their migratory and breeding ranges overlap. There 

 are several closely related forms or sub-species of the Goldfinch 

 found in the West and on the Mexican border which are so much 

 like the American Goldfinch that it may be said Goldfinches are 

 found in a large part of North America. 



Goldfinches are very cleanly in their habits and indulge in fre- 

 quent baths ; indeed, the border of a shallow pool is an excellent 

 place to study this species ; as it is not an uncommon sight to see 

 a number of the brightly colored males gathered there. During 

 the breeding season the parent birds seem to have a well-defined 

 route from the nest to a common watering place. 



The nesting site may be in an evergreen or deciduous bush or 

 tree, and the nest may be built only a few feet from the ground or 

 at considerable height, where it is saddled on or attached to a 

 forked twig. The nest itself is an exquisite piece of bird archi- 

 tecture, compactly built of dried grasses, leaves and shreds of bark, 

 the outside being embellished with lichens, which Audubon says 

 are attached by saliva. The inside of the nest is lined with the 

 softest plant-down. The mother-bird is the builder of this taste- 

 ful home, her handsome consort, during the nest-building time, 

 devoting most of his efforts to singing to cheer his industrious 

 mate. After the four to six bluish white eggs have been laid the 

 singing partner has more work to do, for he has to feed his 



