162 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 73 



served three male evening grosbeaks in Sec. 14, T. 43 N., R. 15 W., Douglas 

 County, but no evidence of nesting. 



Winter: Usually a common to locally abundant winter resident in the North- 

 ern Highland. Uncommon to rare (except during invasion years) winter resi- 

 dent in the Central Plain and Western Upland. The highest mean numbers of 

 evening grosbeaks per party hour on CBC are 8.3 at Grantsburg and 3.3 at 

 Solon Springs (Table 4), both in the Northern Highland. The highest count 

 of individuals on CBC's was 739 recorded on the 1974 Grantsburg Count. 

 Considerable variation also exists in yearly totals, which is indicative of the 

 cycUc influxes of this species. 



Habitat: Migrant evening grosbeaks use both deciduous and coniferous 

 habitats. Box elder and maple trees that retain their fruits are preferred 

 during migration. Most winter records are obtained from the vicinity of feed- 

 ing stations, both in rural and urban areas. My records of this bird during 

 the breeding season were obtained from an extensive stand of black spruce 

 adjacent to a stream. This vegetation type appears to be preferred in the 

 northern breeding areas. 



Purple Finch {Carpodacus purpureus) 



Status: Regular migrant, nesting species, and winter resident. 



Migration: Common migrant in the Western Upland and Central Plain, occa- 

 sionally abundant in the Northern Highland. FaU migration begins in the 

 Northern Highland about 25 August and the first birds arrive in the West- 

 ern Upland 15-25 September. Peak fall migration occurs 1 October to 

 15 November and departure from non wintering areas by 1 December (lat- 

 est— 18 December 1979, Douglas County). Spring migrants arrive in the 

 Northern Highland about 15 March. Peak spring migration occurs 25 March 

 to 15 April and departure by 1 May (latest-10 May 1970 and 17 May 1966, 

 Washington County). 



Nesting Season Distribution: Fairly common nesting species in the North- 

 ern Highland. Confirmed nest records exist for Burnett, Polk, and Douglas 

 counties. Green and Janssen (1975) cited an inferred breeding record for Pine 

 County. Breeding Bird Survey data (Table 8) suggest that nesting is re- 

 stricted to the Northern Highland. The most southerly nest record that I 

 have obtained was a female incubating four eggs on 26 May 1974 near Clam 

 Falls, Polk County (Sec. 11, T. 35 N., R. 15 W.). Jackson (1943) observed a 

 mated pair at St. Croix Falls, Polk County, on 25 May 1919. 



Winter: Common (locally abundant) winter resident in the Western Upland. 

 Becomes progressively more scarce in the Central Plain and is virtually 

 absent from the Northern Highland. Christmas Bird Count data (Table 4) 

 demonstrate sharp declines in winter abundance moving northward from 

 the lower St. Croix River. On 1 January 1978, 294 were recorded on the 

 Afton CBC. On 16 February 1979, I banded 105 at a feeding station in 

 Hudson, St. Croix County. 



Habitat: During the nesting season, the purple finch is a characteristic 



