PURPLE FINCH. 



121 



deepest on the head and ehin, and lightest on the lower part of the 

 breast; the back is streaked with dusky; the wings and tail are 

 also dusky black, edged with reddish ; the latter a good deal fork- 

 ed; round the base of the bill the recumbent feathers are of a light 

 clay or cream color; belly and vent white; sides under the wings 

 streaked with dull reddish; legs a dirty purplish flesh color; bill 

 short, strong, conical, and of a dusky horn color; iris dark hazel; 

 the feathers covering the ears are more dusky red than the other 

 parts of the head. This is the male when arrived at his full colors. 

 The female is nearly of the same size, of a brown olive or flaxen 

 color, streaked with dusky black; the head seamed with lateral 

 lines of whitish ; above and below the hind part of the ear feathers 

 are two streaks of white ; the breast is whitish, streaked with a light 

 flax color; tail and wings as in the male, only both edged with 

 dull brown instead of red; belly and vent white. This is also the 

 color of the young during the first, and to at least the end of the 

 second, season, when the males begin to become lighter yellowish, 

 which gradually brightens to crimson; the female always retains 

 nearly the same appearance. The young male bird of the first 

 year may be distinguished from the female by the tail of the former 

 being edged with olive green, that of the latter with brown. A 

 male of one of these birds which I kept for some time, changed in 

 the month of October from red to greenish yellow, but died before 

 it recovered its former *color. 



