PURPLE FINCH. 105 
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 dis- 
tinguished 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. 
FRINGILLA PURPUREA. 
PURPLE FINCH. 
[Plate XLII. Fig. 3, Male in winter plumage.] 
This bird is represented as he appears previous to receiving his crini 
son plumage, and also when moulting. By recurring to PI. VII., fig. 4, 
which exhibits him in his full dress, the great difference of color will be 
observed to which this species is annually subject. 
It is matter of doubt with me whether this species ought not to be 
classed with Loxia ; the great thickness of the bill, and similarity that 
prevails between this and the Pine Grosbeak, almost induced me to 
adopt it into that class. But respect for other authorities has prevented 
me from making this alteration. 
When these birds are taken in their crimson dress, and kept in a cage 
till they moult their feathers, they uniformly change to their present 
appearance, and sometimes never after receive their red color. They 
are also subject, if well fed, to become so fat as literally to die of cor- 
pulency, of which I have seen several instances ; being at these times 
subject to something resembling apoplexy, from which they sometimes 
recover in a few minutes, but oftener expire in the same space of time. 
The female is entirely without the red, and differs from the present 
only in having less yellow about her. 
These birds regularly arrive from the north, where they breed, in 
September ; and visit us from the south again early in April, feeding 
on the cherry blossoms as soon as they appear. 
The individual figured in the plate measured six inches and a quarter 
in length, and ten inches in extent ; the bill was horn colored ; upper 
parts of the plumage brown olive strongly tinged with yellow, particu- 
larly on the rump, where it was brownish yellow ; from above the eye, 
backwards, passed a streak of white, and another more irregular one 
