
212 FEMALE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 
fect, probably owing to the opinion he at first entertained, but 
afterwards judiciously relinquished, that a minute description 
of common birds is superfluous, we shall proceed to describe 
the species in all its different states. 
The male American goldfinch in summer dress, represented 
by Wilson in his first plate, is four and a half inches long, and 
eight in extent. The bill resembles that of the European 
goldfinch, and, as well as the feet, is of a reddish cinnamon 
colour ; the irides are dark brown ; the front and vertex are 
clossy black; the remaining part of the head, and all the 
body, rich lemon yellow; the superior and inferior tail-coverts 
are white, as well as the thighs ; the wings and tail are black, 
the small coverts of the wings being yellow externally, and 
white on the inner side and at tip; the greater coverts are 
tipt with white, an arrangement which exhibits two white 
bands across the wings; the first and third primaries are 
equal, hardly shorter than the second, which is the longest, 
the fourth being nearly as long as the third ; the secondaries 
are margined with white. The tail is emarginated, the feathers 
being black, slightly edged with white, and having a large 
pure white spot on the inner web at tip. 
The female, as is usual in this family of birds, is rather 
smaller than the male, and is widely different from that sex in 
the colours of its plumage. The bill and feet are brownish ; 
the lower mandible is whitish at base; the head has no appear- 
ance of black, and, with the neck, the back, and rump, is 
brownish olive, the latter part being of a lighter shade than 
the preceding portions; the upper tail-coverts are greenish 
white; the frontlet, cheeks, sides of the neck, throat, and 
upper part of the breast, are pale greenish yellow; the lower 
portion of the breast, belly, vent, flanks, under wing and under 
tail-coverts, are whitish. The wings and tail, which always 
afford the most constant specific characters, are like those 
of the male, except that the black colour is less intense, and 
the white is less pure, being slightly tinged with rufous. 
In this state of plumage, the bird closely resembles the 

