THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 115 
his descriptions of some of the more common ones are so 
full and accurate, that they leave us little to add to them. 
Yet even Wilson, in several noticeable instances, in writ- 
ing about birds that are far from being uncommon or 
rare, has given descriptions and accounts which the ex- 
perience of others, and especially those of the writer, have 
not been able to verify. We will speak of only a few of 
these instances. 
Let us first take the common American Goldfinch ( Car- 
duelis tristis), so widely distributed, so familiar to every 
one, and read what Wilson writes in reference to its nest 
and eggs: “They build a very neat and delicately formed 
little nest, which they fasten to the twigs of an apple 
tree, or to the strong, branching stalks of hemp, cover- 
ing it on the outside with pieces of lichen, which they 
find on the trees and fences; these they glue together 
with their saliva, and afterwards line the inside with the 
softest downy substances they can procure. The female 
lays five eggs, of a dull white, thickly marked at the 
greater end; and they generally raise two broods in a 
season.” : 
It appears singular to all who are familiar with the nest 
and eggs of the Goldfinch, which in Massachusetts, so far 
as the writer has observed, agree in no one thing with 
the abo this ¢ on could have found a place 
> the work of so accurate and trustworthy a writer. 
The explanation is not easy, nor shall we try to suggest 
‘one. We will only state, that, without exception, we have 
ever found the egg unspotted, of a uniform white color, 
which, when not blown, has a slightly bluish shade. The 
nest is neat, but “delicate” is far from being an appropriate _ 
expression. It is not to be used in reference to the nest of : 
this bird, as we should apply it to the nest of the um- 
